


The Blue Dragon

by tubendo



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Family Drama, Gen, Moral Ambiguity, Responsibility
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2018-11-19 17:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 33,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11318610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tubendo/pseuds/tubendo
Summary: What can happen in a world where Ursa simply says goodbye to her daughter before disappearing from the Fire Nation Palace that fateful night? A lot apparently, and that's exactly what this fanfiction investigates. This is AU from the point of divergence and remains as close as it can to canon as long as it is viable within the changes made to the world.





	1. Prologue

"Born in the vibrant flowering of spring, raised in the turbulent fires of summer, enlightened through the orange haze of autumn and found peace in the cold but light snows of winter. These are the four seasons, the four elements. They guide us, shape us and make us into our true selves."

The moonlight cast a long shadow into the blood red hallway, as a hooded figure crept down it. The Fire Nation Palace was exceptionally quiet that night, the guards down to a minimum and the grand throne room empty.

In her bedroom slept a 10 year old Princess Azula, half-asleep, still thinking about what her grandfather said father would have to do to Zuko. She did mock Zuko saying that father would kill him, but begun to wonder if her father would ever do such a thing. Yes she thought Zuko was a weakling and an idiotic one at that, he was still their father's son and it was his obligation to protect him. She decided not to toss and turn over the idea that her brother may die and faced out to her door seeing a figure walk by. Azula's senses were well attuned to shadows and darkness, as she could see through the heavy robes and knew it was her mother.

"Mum!" she cried out, curious as to why she was walking about the palace in the dead of night. Her mother walked up beside her bed and sat next to Azula's face, brushing her bangs from her forehead, making Azula cringe and flick her mother's hand away.

Her mother sat beside her almost weeping, "Azula listen to me, I have to go now and I won't be coming back... But you must know that I love you-"

Azula stopped her and a scowl came upon her face, "You don't love me like you love Zuzu, you're always with him and never with me".

Her mother wiped tears from her eyes and continued, "I love you both more than you'll ever know, and it's what mothers do. I take care of Zuko because he's not as strong as you, he needs the support..."

Azula's face grew smug and she chuckled, "So Zuzu really is weak, I knew it!" Her mother hushed her lips and almost laughed at her daughter's cruel statement.

"That's why I want you to protect him, your father is a cruel man and he may treat him unfairly... You must promise me you will help him... For the sake of the love I hold for you two", her mother ended now standing up, almost imposing on the ten year old below her.

Azula now understanding what her mother meant decided to pull the best smile she could, "I promise mum, for Zuzu and for... Love", she cringed finishing the reply. Azula was not one for love but at least her mother told her she did love her.

Her mother kissed her on the forehead and said her final goodbye, "Be strong my little dragon", before walking out with the hood back on her head concealing her identity once more. Azula rolled her head into her pillow and did not cry, not a single whimper, for as her mother told her, she was strong, and she was a dragon.


	2. Spar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sparring session between two rival siblings.

The emblazoning sun scorched the stone surface of the training yards and boiled the blood of the two sparring siblings. Flames burst from fists and feet, the elder falls to his feet, feeling the scorching burn sear into his shoulder. To the side sat their uncle, watching closely at their forms and tactics in their spar. The younger pipes up and laughs at her brothers weak performance, but she commends him for his effort. Something their uncle wouldn't see her do lightly, which intrigued him.

Iroh knew Azula and Zuko were both skilled fire benders, no one denied that, but Azula, she was a prodigy. She had mastered numerous more forms than her older brother effortlessly, and he still tried to keep up. He loved him for that, the spirit that drove him to keep on fighting, no matter what. It reminded him of his own son, Lu Ten, even at the doors of death. He knew that they were struggling with their mother's disappearance, and these duels seemed to be going on every morning. However he noticed Azula had changed since her mother's disappearance. She was almost kind, in a condescending way at that. She seemed to care for her brother more than she did before, and respected his will to fight.

Zuko walked up to Iroh as he finished up his cup of tea, "Uncle! Are we going to work on those forms this afternoon, Azula's getting better every day, and effort alone isn't going get make me win".

Iroh laughed, "Neither will continuously sparring, maybe you should work on your strategies and tactics. A game of Pai Sho perhaps?"

Zuko chuckled at his uncle's response and nodded, "Pai Sho it is, I just hope I won't be as beat with you as I am with Azula". Iroh's skill at Pai Sho was seemingly unmatched, and his firebending seemed not far behind. But more importantly for Zuko, he was kind hearted and a guiding figure for him. His father hadn't been around much since his coronation as Fire Lord with his grandfather's passing, and Iroh had recently returned from a journey around the world, so he was a good conversation partner as well as a trainer.

Azula stood on the other side of the courtyard redoing her hair, which had fallen out of place in the spar. A few adjustments and it looked 'perfect' again. She looked back to see her brother and uncle having a good laugh. She looked on her brother with some contempt. He didn't seem to notice their looming father, who was just waiting to make use of one of Zuko's little mistakes. She strived for perfection while her brother strived to be as good as her. A surmountable goal, she thought to herself.

She thought back to her what her mother had told her before she left, and she was still unsure of what to make of it. She knew she had to take care of Zuko and protect him. But Zuko was as arrogant as her, he wouldn't take to be any less than equal to her. That was why they were training together, to toughen him up... But also to do their father's bidding. He wanted two warrior children, and he knew that Zuko was always falling behind. Well at least she could appease him with her brilliantly skilled use of firebending.

She walked up to her brother and tapped him on the shoulder, getting his attention from laughs and wisecracking of their uncle. "Zuzu, ready to try and beat me again?" she slyly led him on with.

He laughed and stood tall, trying to seem imposing, "I think I have a chance". He walked to the end of the training field and turned, as if preparing for an Agni Kai. She followed opposite and turned, smugly grinning at her brother, as to get him off edge. This time he seemed a little different, too boisterous with his confidence. Iroh stood from his chair and hit his small bell, commencing the spar.

Azula ran at Zuko and swung her leg to make a wave of fire towards her brother, which he easily blocked with a fire blast. Jumping up, she attempted to blast him in the face, but he was able to roll away in time. Reversed in their positions, Azula swept Zuko's feet with another wave of fire, forcing him to curl down and dodge. He was unaware that she lifted her other foot and sent a blast straight at him. Knocked to the ground, Zuko spun around and attempted to sweep her with a wave of his own. She could clearly see he was getting her moves down pat.

"Good, you're finally getting the moves right!" Azula laughed in a condescending tone. Zuko chuckled and took it as further encouragement to make a high kick and blast her with another wave. She sidestepped it and simply threw a punch back at him, hitting the same shoulder as before, making him yelp in pain.

"Dang it Azula! You didn't have to hit me in the same spot again", he cried out, then throwing another wave of fire in anger.

She laughed and pulled a sinister grin, "But you see, I did!", before throwing a kick at his legs, forcing him to drop down and give in.

Zuko wheezed and puffed before raising his hand, "Yeah you win, just work on the condescending remarks more, they're not as angering as before". She chuckled and gave Zuko her hand, to which he complied and grabbed.

Pulling him up, Azula pulled a cunning smile, and patted him on the shoulder, "Zuzu, you're not that bad... But I'm obviously better, so just keep on it". They walked over to Iroh at sat at the opposing chairs on his small table.

Sighing in relief that the spar was over, Iroh pulled out two small cups, and pulled a comical grin, "Tea anyone?" The two siblings laughed and looked at each other, and realised for once in a long time, that they really did have fun together and they were still really children, despite their lifestyle. More than that, Azula and Zuko saw behind each other's crude remarks and mockery and saw that they really did care for each other, despite their differences. This was something Azula didn't want to show, especially around her father, but it was the truth nonetheless. She would protect Zuko, and he would stand by her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter simply sets out the beginning of what I call a fresh start in Azula and Zuko's relationship, but I have made it in a way that it will heavily correlate with a later chapter.


	3. Prodigy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prodigy awakens her innermost powers, realising her ultimate potential.

In a small room, the Fire Nation's Princess continued to train. She practised her kicks, punches, waves of fire and more unique moves like fire blades and breath. She had heard her uncle constantly chatter on about to Zuko with the idea of breath within her firebending, so Azula tried it out, trying to pull the flames out of her gut. This was one thing she happened to be not catching onto as easily as other kinds of firebending. She personally didn't know why she couldn't do it without ease, but nonetheless she tried again and again.

Watching her was her two advisers, Lo and Li, two elderly non-benders, which intrigued her to why they were made her firebending instructors in the first place. They congratulated her perfection and damned her imperfection. They had advised against her trying this new form of firebending and rather working on something more familiar, but Azula was a stubborn one. She felt like she was being her brother in this situation, which brought a crude smile to her face.

In her frustration, Azula decided to stop trying to work on breath and just kicked a blast of fire at the closest non-flammable wall. Suddenly she realised that fire blast was different to the others. It wasn't red and gold like normal fire, it was a deep blue.

"Ah... This is most intriguing, blue fire, it is essentially a legend..." Lo drawled, slowly clapping at Azula's performance. Azula tipped her up in pride, she knew she was good, but having a mythic ability just makes it ever better.

"We must tell Firelord Ozai of this new power you have, he will be pleased to know his daughter is even greater than we first believed!" Li said, almost laughing in happiness in the moment. Li was right, her father would be very happy to know she can use this extremely unique ability. Azula smiled but then realised this was one kick, she had to perfect it before even considering to tell her father. He would be infuriated to just see her make a simple blast of red fire if he was told she could make blue.

"I have to perfect this ability before presenting myself to father, leave me to train alone", Azula said before raising her hand to dismiss the two advisers. As they left the room she decided to sit down and meditate and focus on the blue fire she had made. She wasn't one for mystics but she thought to try it before beginning a drawn-out session of attempts to recreate the blue fire.

She felt weird, that was the only word to describe it. Even after a moment of triumph Azula felt simply weird about all of this. She loved that she was perfect and special, but she hadn't given much to ask why. It was a lot for an eleven-year-old to think about, no matter how tact and knowledgeable in firebending she was.

She took a deep breath and focused on the blue fire that she had made before standing and moving into her form. She swung her leg and kicked out again at the wall, making another blue flame. She smiled and almost laughed in glee.

"It worked! Now let's try something different!" she said to herself, pulling herself back into form. Then she swung her arm punching a blue wave of fire across the room, noticing that Zuko had been standing out at the door at the time. He squealed and dropped to dodge the fire, making Azula laugh hysterically at her brother.

"Zuzu! Here to watch my superior firebending... And blue fire?" Azula laughed triumphantly standing over her cowering brother.

"Azula how did you even do that? Blue fire, I haven't even heard of that... Ever!" Zuko said with interest and glee. Azula raised her hand and made a back kick towards the wall, spouting a column of blue fire at it.

"I just focus on the idea, the deepest and strongest firebending I can make, and this is what comes out", Azula said with a tone of confidence, flicking her hair and grinning at her amazed brother.

"So are you going to show Dad?" Zuko asked looking at the ash from all the blasts Azula had made, "He'll be happier than the last time I flopped my firebending in front of him".

Azula grinned and threw another high kick at the wall, visibly shaking the room. "That's the idea Zuko, he sees my skill, and then he'll be happy with my progress". She patted Zuko's shoulder, "Someone's got to make up for your failures Zuzu... To keep the Firelord happy". That made Zuko visibly angry and he pushed Azula back, causing her to stumble, and started to walk away down the hallway. "Don't cry Zuko, I'm only telling you what you need to know..." He looked at her with contempt and walked around the corner, and Azula turned back to train her firebending. She finished the sentence, not with words but in her mind, "... To keep you safe".

Azula stood before the Firelord in his throne room, the stark contrast of the wall of flames concealing his face behind. Behind her stood Lo and Li who had just told the Firelord how they discovered her blue fire and how she was able to use the new still with precision and perfection. A lot for even Azula to stand up to, only just found out she could use it a few hours earlier.

Bowing in front of her father, she did not gaze into his eyes, but she could sense his emotions. He was still seemingly troubled by the events over a year prior with his wife gone and the throne his, he seemed to be angry... All the time.

Azula begun by spinning and kicking a wave of blue fire above the throne and cutting through her father's wall of flames with a long blast of fire. She showed that not only that she could use her blue fire with relative ease, she could also sway her own father's firebending. She grinned maliciously at the shock on his face. He was a hard nut to crack, but Azula thought she had proven enough and bowed for him in respect.

"My daughter, your skills have improved immensely since the last time you showed me. How long have you been working on this blue fire?", Ozai asked with considerable interest.

This only furthered Azula's smug attitude, "A few hours, only since midday". Her father chuckled at the fact.

"Even I was not as quick a learner as you. You should begin training with more advanced sets. I believe you are ready for more than just throwing fire around, no matter its colour", her father responded, with a smug look similar to her own.

Azula bowed once more, "It will be done, Father", before he dismissed her, Lo and Li. The Firelord sat in his throne wondering of his daughter's immense skills and aptitude for the art of firebending, and reminisced of when he was her age, just beginning to fully grasp the art. It brought a smile to his face, but he soon turned back to one of a more serious demeanour.

He called out to his guards who had been standing at the door awaiting orders, "Prepare the war-table, the Generals will be here any minute". He had a war to win and a city to burn to the ground. He would not fail like his brother before him. He was stronger and Iroh was weak. Only time would tell if his daughter would follow his path or one of weakness.

Azula's bedroom was dark and only lit by a dim moonlight. She sat alone in her bed, thinking of the times to come. She knew she was superior and a prodigy, she never doubted her own ability, but she would not face her father easily. Even if she wasn't weak like Zuko, she would still have to be better than even she could ever hope to be to stand up to her father's expectations. Perhaps she wanted her to become a leader like him, a warrior, a tactician, or did he want something else, did he want a servant out of her. Azula didn't like the sounds of being her father's servant.

She rolled over in her bed and dismissed the idea, she was her daughter, and it was her duty and honour to be there for her father. Just like her mother had told her to be there for Zuko and protect him. But she was unsure who to trust more, her mother had disappeared for over a year but her father was always there, watching and telling her how to act. But she knew one thing, whatever action she made was the right one because she was destined to be the greatest firebender of all time, and perhaps Firelord one day.

Azula knew she was going to do great things, but didn't know what. She was told that she would have to follow to in the footsteps of Sozin like her father and grandfather before her, be a conqueror and vanquish the Earth Kingdom and other lesser peoples. But she kept hearing her mother's voice, telling her to protect the weak not destroy them. Why would she listen to that anyway? Being strong was her nature, and the strong make do with the weak. Zuko was weak, as was Uncle, and she was strong. Then she thought, as to why she would protect Zuko, because he's her brother, her family. Just like the Firelord protecting their nation. Maybe her mother was right, but that was not the outlook she needed. She needed to be the conqueror that her father wanted, or her fate would be worse than their fallen enemies, dishonour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is simply laying out Azula as character, as she is similar to but different from herself within the canon series.


	4. Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A vision brings Azula to conflict with her own idealistic destiny with one that has been preordained.

Azula opened her eyes, and immediately realised she was not in her bed. She was lying on rock, on top of a mountain. The entire essence of the world seemed to be washed over with a pale brown and so was she. Looking around she could only see fog around the mountain and nothing else. Well Azula, like any right-minded person was delighted at her situation, she seemed to be stuck in a weird world that only consisted of a single mountain.

"Anyone there? Or is this some cheap spirit trick?" Azula called out, trying to mock whatever, or whoever was behind this. Suddenly a fire blur flew in front of her and swung around landing on the other side of the peak. It was a giant red dragon, and on top of it sat an elderly man in long red robes, like his dragon.

"Come my child, I need to show you something", the man said, calling out in a all-encompassing voice. Azula saw no option but to comply and walked up to the man, who she realised stood massively above her, despite being old and lanky. The old man had a long beard, thinning hairline and a crown, though not one she herself could recognise. Maybe he was Fire Nation royalty.

Azula chuckles and asks, "What are you here to show me, old fool? My destiny or something", and ends with a stout laugh.

The man stood unimpressed yet warm in his face, "Azula, you're right. This is about your destiny, your future, what you chose to do from what I show you is your choice alone".

She smirks at the old man, "I would have made it my choice nonetheless. Go on, show me!"

He touched her on the forehead and suddenly she fell into a dark void, the man and his dragon disappearing. A room formed around her and she was able to immediately know what it was, it was the throne room of the Palace, set up as the war room. She could see a number of generals, and could spot her Uncle amongst them. More than that she could see her brother, Zuko. He was riled up and shouting at one of the generals and he could see them all turn to her father, the Firelord, sitting behind the flames of his throne.

She then turned to a large chamber, when hundreds of people sat to watch, weirdly enough she could see herself, smirking and jibing at her uncle, sitting next to her. Her uncle was scared, and she noticed why. Zuko was kneeling down and preparing for an Agni Kai. She realised what this meant, Zuko would fight no one less than their own father, who walked onto the scene emerging from the flames. Zuko cried and begged, but Azula knew that was no help, she decided to stomach what was coming next. Her father pulled his hand up, set it alight and melted the skin on Zuko's eye, making him scream in hysteria. Azula covered her eyes and hoped it was over.

Opening her eyes again she was confronted with a cave lit by large crystals and could see herself again. Standing with Zuko and a number of earthbenders, fighting what seemed to be an airbender and waterbender. She assumed that the Airbender was the next avatar as all other airbenders were supposedly dead. The Avatar had covered himself in a crystal tomb while the waterbender continued to fight off the earthbenders, who were immensely skilled in their rather stupendous art. The Avatar rose up out of the crystal tomb, eyes white, causing both Azula's to jump back a bit for a moment. She could see the fear in her brother's eyes, and clearly saw the massive scar under the loft of hair he had. The other Azula started doing a form, one which Azula didn't know or had seen before. She shot a blast of lightning, bright as the sun, crackling like a fire, straight into the Avatar's chest causing him to fall to the ground, presumably dead. Azula almost smiled at the fact that she of all people was the one to finally defeat the Avatar.

Turning around she saw a dancing of blue and red flames, massive and encroaching, on what seemed to be the courtyard of the Fire Palace. She could see herself battling Zuko, and another standing to the side, the waterbender from the fight with the Avatar. The other Azula seemed to be deranged, and her hair cut horrifically. This scared Azula, thinking that it was possible for her to go insane. And more than that she shot lightning again, but this time into Zuko's chest. Her own brother! No matter how much dishonour he brought, she could never think of killing her own brother. Her other self then started to fight the waterbender, throwing fireblast after fireblast, eventually cornering her at the edge of the courtyard. But even that victory was shortlived, as she was stuck in a flush of ice with the waterbender, who then chained her up and went to help Zuko, they both looked at the other Azula with disgust but also sadness. Maybe this 'Zuko' did love her, or maybe only pitied her.

Suddenly this Zuko looked at the real Azula and spoke, "Wake up Azula!", causing her to fall into the blackness again. But now she was standing in front of her mother, who looked older and frailer than when she left her as a child. She was crying, tears rushing down her face.

"Why could you do this Azula? When I told you to protect your brother, you let your father maim him, and then tried to kill him!" this caused Azula to fall down in hysterics and start crying, for the first time in years. She had done the one thing she didn't want to do. Make her mother hate her, truly hate her, not just think she did. Her mother started fading, calling out to her, "Be better than her, be better..."

Azula rolled up into a ball and wept, she didn't know what was right and what was wrong anymore. She knew she was right, but if this path that she was going to take was of her own doing, maybe she was wrong. Maybe she had been weak this entire time? She wouldn't let herself be like that and decided she had enough. She looked out and saw herself on the mountain once more, the old man and his dragon waiting for her.

The old man walked over to her, and patted her on the shoulder, almost embracing her, "Oh Azula, don't fret yourself, the future is not certain yet".

"Who are you old man? I've never seen you in my life yet you seem so familiar..." Azula asked.

"It's not your time to find my identity, for it may bring you too much conflict and pain", the man said, holding her still by the shoulder, "Now you must return, for I can't remain for long, but I will leave you with this". She touched Azula on the forehead again, and she was embraced by an all-encompassing white light.

And as she hoped, Azula woke up, in an awkward position in her own bed. She knew that was more than a dream. It was far too real to be a dream. She decided there was only one course of action in this situation. To find Uncle, and to get him to explain whatever the Agni happened to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This dream sequence was actually inspired to me by a FF.net user by the username of Arcane Charmcaster, who explained to me it would be interesting to include Roku in the storyline. That essentially has inspired half of the plot line of my entire fanfiction forecoming, and has added an interesting conflicting element in Azula's character.


	5. Entwined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azula tries to understand her destiny. Talking things out do their wonders.

The former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation sat calmly drinking his first cup of tea for the day, feeling the sun's touch peak above the mountains to the east, churning the fire in his gut. He sat awaiting his nephew, who had promised he'd get up at sunrise and start training early. The Prince hadn't arrived yet, so he had taken to drinking a fine cup of Jasmine Tea, his favourite. His brother, Firelord Ozai, had been distracted for the most part by an endless flurry of war councils and administrative issues, leaving him to take care of his son, Prince Zuko. His younger prodigious sister Azula had not made an appearance lately, as she had been training with her instructors, Lo and Li, or off at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. Iroh was taken from his deep thought by hearing Zuko's deep yawn, as he entered the courtyard and sat next to him.

"Prince Zuko, you took a while longer than expected, I've been waiting for you", Iroh jibed, patting his nephew on the shoulder, "Would you care for some Jasmine Tea, or a game of Pai Sho before we train?".

Zuko smiled and grabbed the pot, pouring himself a cup of fresh Jasmine Tea, "I think I could use tea and a game to wake me up, I didn't have the best sleep last night".

Iroh laughed and pulled out the Pai Sho board, "Black or white, young nephew? Only one choice to decide your fate?" Zuko rested his chin on his hand, taking a moment to decide which colour he'd choose, when Azula approached the two, as if she appeared from nowhere.

"Hey Azula! Want to team up with me against Uncle in a quick game of Pai Sho? I still haven't beat Uncle, but you could probably make short work of him!", Zuko piped to his sister, who had a distraught and somewhat distant look on her face, not making any sarcastic or condescending remarks at either of them. Zuko was confused so decided to ask again, "Are you okay Azula?"

Azula looked at him briefly, jamming out a little "I'm alright", before turning to their Uncle and almost pleading, "Uncle I need to talk to you- privately", looking at Zuko snidely as she said the last part.

Iroh looked confusedly at Zuko and then Azula, before smiling and going along with it, "Okay my young niece, just give me a moment", before looking back at Zuko and patting his shoulder from across the small table, "Give me a moment with your sister, we'll start our game soon". Azula took that as an end to their conversation and pulled Iroh to his feet, causing him to stumble, before pointing him to follow her to a nearby room. Iroh followed and Azula closed the door behind him.

Making a quick glance out any of the windows to check for guards she begun, "Uncle, I had a really weird dream".

Iroh rubbed his beard with his stubby fingers, and asked her, "A dream? Was it to do with the spirits?"

Azula rubbed her head and responded, "Well not exactly... I met an old man who showed me my future, and it was felt real".

Iroh was intrigued but seemed to know what was going on, despite Azula's vague descriptions, "Was this man tall, bearded and wearing a crown shaped like two flames?"

Azula was shocked and wondered if her Uncle had been in her mind, knowing exactly what the old man looked like, "Yes... That's exactly what he looked like. How did you know?"

Her Uncle chuckled and twisted his beard, "I'm well-practiced in Fire Nation history, even of the time before the war".

"You're telling me this man is dead?" Azula shouted in confusion. Iroh patted her down to quiet her, and hushed her lips.

"My niece, there is much you don't know, or will ever know, but know this: You are special, and having the blessing of the blue fire is just a part of this. You and your brother are both entwined in a destiny, I just know it", Iroh said with much care and confidence, "Now tell me, what and who did you see?"

Azula then proceeded to tell her Uncle about the dream, with Zuko being burnt by her father, her killing the next Avatar and being defeated by her brother. He was more intrigued and shocked with each further imparting of knowledge. He rested himself on the ground, as if to meditate and asked his niece to sit with him.

"Azula, you must understand, this may be what he showed you, but it is not what is destined, rather what you can prevent. What you can save!" he said gazing out towards the sunrise.

"That was not all Uncle... I saw mother too, at the end of the dream. She was crying at how I had failed Zuko and she cried out for me... The real me... To overcome my own destiny", Azula said, tearing up at the end.

Her uncle held her in tight embrace and told her, "Do not fear my child, your mother doesn't hate you, she only wants what is best for you". Azula continued to sob on her Uncle and he patted her on the back, "It is not what you think is right and wrong, but what you do in the end, my niece. You haven't begun your life, you have plenty of good to do".

Azula stopped sobbing and lifted herself from her Uncle, wiping the tears from her eyes and returning to a near-emotionless state, "You must promise to never speak of this, Father nor Zuko can find out about this weakness".

Iroh smiled almost sadly at Azula, standing up again equal to her, "I will not speak of this, but you are wrong about this being a weakness. Emotions, love, and being able to confess to your own pains makes it a strength not a weakness. Lest your father not find out or he may make short work of us both".

Azula nodded a motioned her hand telling him to walk out of the room casually, to which Iroh obliged. The two walked out without much grace, sitting back at the table to see Zuko having set up the Pai Sho table.

"Uncle I decided that we would be black. You get white", Zuko chuckled, showing them the table and the new cups of tea he had poured them.

Iroh smiled and patted his nephew on the back, "Good job Zuko, and let us now enjoy a game of Pai Sho and Jasmine Tea!" They all sat down and picked up their cups of tea, cheering them and taking a long gulp.

"Ah my nephew, this is actually brilliant tea!" Iroh commended Zuko, causing him to roll his eyes and show his contempt.

"Uncle, you were the one that bought the leaves and brewed the tea, all I did was pour it! Is this some kind of joke", Zuko grumbled, in a state of mixed anger and humour.

Iroh sat speechless for a moment before cracking down laughing, "I'll stop flattering myself and you'll stop getting frustrated, commendable goals I say". This made Zuko himself crack down laughing and bought a small but significant smile to Azula's face.

Iroh finished his tea and hammered his cup down on the table, "Well it's time for a game of Pai Sho, sure you can take a master like me?" he said with such confidence that it almost made him laugh again.

Zuko jibed at him, "I'm sure we can beat you Uncle, right Azula?" elbowing Azula, who let out a little "sure".

Iroh sat down and quickly made his first move, leaving Zuko unsure what to do, so he took the quick way out and tapped Azula on the shoulder, who had been looking out into the empty courtyard with some disinterest.

"I thought it'd be best if you went first Azula", he asked, causing his sister to break down in laughter.

"Oh Zuko, it's as if you already know I'm better than you", Azula jibed, picking up their first piece. Now she had to make the right decision, with the piece and with her own future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really shows how Azula is differing as a character from canon. For one she's actually willing to show her emotions around those she trusts, and in that, she trusts Iroh more than most others, who she ended up metaphorically tossing under the bus in canon.


	6. Honesty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of a school day is rough for anyone.

It was an early spring morning, flowers blowing in the wind and the sun settling above the caldera ridge in the east, drawing out long shadows across the courtyard. There sat Prince Zuko, being instructed by his uncle on a new set. The Prince was not too fond of his firebending training, as he knew all too well on his sister's proficient and quick streak of learning, while Zuko was forced to keep up in pace, lest his father become agitated with his supposed weaknesses. He believed in his father's judgement though, he would have to work harder and be as good as his sister, to uphold his own honour and that of the Royal Family.

"Prince Zuko, you must feel the fire in your gut, and use it for more than power. Feel the energy in your breath, and use it to spit the flames from your gut!" his Uncle shouted at him, in a more serious demeanour than usual. Zuko continued to try and breathe fire but didn't make much progress, the best being a puff of smoke, causing him to choke up a bit.

Coughing and fallen to the ground, Zuko frowned, "Uncle this is one of the more challenging kinds of firebending. Can't we just work with something a little simpler?"

Iroh chuckled, "Do you think your father would accept that? I'm trying to show you one of the most essential firebending techniques, even though most firebenders don't use it. It is extremely effective in any environment or situation!", then pulled the prince to his feet. "Now show me what you can do Zuko! Use all your power!" Iroh piped up again. Zuko pulled himself back and took a deep breath, and spat fire out, quite easily at that.

"Uncle I did it! Ha- I bet even Azula can't do it!" Zuko jibed and laughed, attempting to high-five his uncle, who obliged.

"Well Zuko... I think you might be right about Azula though, I haven't seen her achieve fire breath yet", Iroh chuckled, and gave his nephew a teacup to hold. "A reward for your efforts nephew!" Iroh laughed, bringing a smile to Zuko's face.

Looking inside Zuko realised the teacup was empty, "Uh- Uncle, there's no tea-".

This made Iroh laugh and patted his nephew on the back, "Well I didn't make any, so entrenched in our training session, but let me make some now..."

They sat down and Iroh pulled out his kettle, boiling the water inside with his hand underneath. Zuko was embarrassed with his uncle's seemingly boundless skill of tea-making, but it didn't mean he wasn't impressed with the tea he made. Zuko didn't mind which kind of tea he drank, but Uncle always insisted on his personal brew, Jasmine Tea, which even Zuko could commend as soothing to the heart and mind as it was to his ego.

Looking out across the courtyard, the two could see Azula, who was ready to go to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls for the day. It was located outside the capital, and her father saw it best for her to remain there when school was on. She gazed over at her uncle and brother laughing, and puffed in discontent. They always seemed to be happy to Azula, not that Azula wasn't happy being around them. Her brother may of been ignorant and overly agressive, but at least he was kind of heart, like her mother. She'd never say it to his face though, it'd just bring down his self-esteem, and make her look weak for saying it in the first place.

"Hey Azula!", Zuko called out, making her flick her head back at him and gave him a stern look.

She continued to walk away until Iroh pitched in, "Why don't you have tea with us before you leave?!" causing her to break a small smile and walk over to their table. Zuko looked up at his sister, noticing that she looked quite tired, with large bags under her eyes, which she had attempted to (or her servants had) to cover up with makeup. Her pouty eyes gave her an unusual look, unlike her usual snide or emotionless face, she seemed rather 'human' for once.

"So Azula, what have you been doing lately, Uncle says you have been trying to learn fire breath?" Zuko asked, intrigued by what his uncle had said earlier.

Azula then flicked her bangs in contempt and snidely chuckled, "Well it's not like you've mastered it..." Zuko reeled back, realising that if he said the truth, he may agitate his sister, which is the dumbest thing to do seeing she was already in a bad mood.

Zuko replied in the most down tone he could make, "Yeah... You're right-"

"But Prince Zuko, you just-", Iroh interrupted, causing Zuko to hush him down with a slight fury, leaving Iroh to sink into his chair and continue on brewing his tea.

Azula decided to continue, assuming that was why she was called over in the first place, "It's been... A challenge, to achieve proficiency in the skill of fire breath. But father insisted I learn higher level firebending skills despite that. Lo and Li have instructed me to look at higher sets now, to perfect my fighting skills."

Her uncle poured her cup of tea and handed it to her, "My niece, you should try to embellish in all kinds of firebending, not just the fighting sets, which you have easily mastered".

She drunk some of her tea and chuckled at her uncle, "Like lightning-bending?"

Iroh and to a lesser degree Zuko were shocked by her statement causing Iroh to reel back and ask, "That's quite a challenging technique, both physically and emotionally, and only a select few can use it".

Azula laughed at Iroh, "Can't both you and father do lightning-bending, and quite easily at that?" stopping him as he was pouring Zuko's cup of tea.

Iroh pulled his beard in thought, "Well I guess you are right, though it was hard to achieve, it is likely you may have the inborn gift, as you have with other things, like your blue fire". The last part caused Zuko to snicker for a moment before turning to grab his tea, which Iroh had just poured.

"I best be off, my palanquin bearers are always slow taking me to school", Azula said, raising herself from her chair, before looking at Zuko smugly, "Good look with your firebending, you'll need it Zuzu". As she walked away she saw his frustration with her constant jibes coming on. Despite what Zuko might have thought, she was completely serious. He really did need all the luck he could get.

Azula's palanquin ride was, as she expected, rather long and dull passing through the streets of the capital. She gazed out seeing a few nobles throwing intrigued glances at her, but most of the citizens around were public servants or guards, too entrenched in their work to notice the Princess. Not that she didn't want to be noticed, she liked the attention. The palanquin stopped outside the gates of the school and the holders and guards wished her best with her schoolwork. She called them to go back to the Palace and return in the afternoon, as they always would. Turning around she was confronted with the gates of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, the most prestigious and well-renowned school for young girls throughout the entire Fire Nation.

She walked into the school and felt appeased when the other students would tear away from any crowds they had as she walked by. They knew to fear her, and those who didn't, Azula had put in line over the years. She walked up to her best friends, Ty Lee and Mai, who were chatting about how boring the schoolwork was.

Ty Lee noticed her and gave her a strong embrace, as was to be expected from the jumpy non-bender, "Azula! Mai and I are so happy to see you! How's life in the palace?"

Azula pulled herself back and chuckled, "Well I've been doing a lot of training and even my father wants me to learn more advanced firebending techniques. Plus Zuko's being a flop as per usual, so that's a benefit for my 'sorrows'...", the last part causing Mai to flinch back.

Mentioning Zuko, Ty Lee laughed and reminisced, "Remember when Zuko saved you Mai, when Azula lit that apple on fire..." she started falling down in laughter, "It was so cute!".

This caused Mai to push Ty Lee, "Hey Ty Lee cut it out! It was nothing, Zuko was just trying to be helpful".

Azula snickered, "Come on Ty Lee, you know better than to make fun of Mai. What's in the past is in the past..." her serious tone bringing Ty Lee's laughter to a standstill, before suddenly she broke down into a chuckle, "Yeah you're right it was pretty funny!".

The headmistress walked out into the courtyard and called out to the students, "Girls your classes begin in 5 minutes, please prepare yourselves!" Azula puffed in disappointment. If there was one thing she didn't enjoy, it was this school. It was always about proper manners and how to be a proper Fire Nation lady, all stuff that Azula understood but took little note for. Ironically it seemed that the social life she had with her friends made it better. Some of the classes were good though, especially where they learnt about the history of the war and the conquests of her grandfather, Firelord Azulon and his father, Firelord Sozin.

"C'mon Azula we have to go to class!" Ty Lee piped up, grabbing her and Mai by the arms and pacing towards the classroom.

Azula snickered and pulled herself free, racing ahead, "Want to make it a race? How about this!" She ran past the other students, using her athletic skill to kick off the walls of the classrooms and dodge plants and students. She looked back to see Ty Lee doing the same with equal or even greater proficiency (though Azula herself would never admit it), while Mai had taken an alternate route, disappearing from view. The race continued until they were stopped straight in front of their teacher, who was a little more than disappointed at the girls.

"You shouldn't be running around like that. You are a Princess, not a thief", the teacher bides at Azula.

She took her statement as a grain of salt, "Pfft, I'm not just a Princess, I'm a warrior and warriors need to be fast to fight!", and proceeded to walk past her and into the classroom. Azula immediately realised that Mai had already beaten both her and Ty Lee to the classroom.

"You do know there's another door into the classroom right?", Mai jibed at Azula, almost mocking her, causing Ty Lee to chuckle, who stopped when Azula glared back at her.

Azula and Ty Lee sat down next to her, Azula flicking her bangs in contempt, "Very funny, very funny..." The teacher clapped her hands, signalling the students to calm and quiet, before beginning the class. Azula quickly hushed Ty Lee who was attempting to tell her compliment her on her agility.

"Now class, today we will be learning about the geography of the Fire Nation", the teacher droned, pulling down a map of the entire Fire Nation and the colonies on the Earth Kingdom coast. The teacher pointed to the map, her fingers crossing its drawn out mountains and waves, "You can see the Fire Nation is strictly divided into three parts, those being-"

"The homeland, the outer islands, and the colonies", Azula interrupted, finishing the teachers own sentence, causing the teacher to grumble.

"Yes, Princess Azula, that is correct. Do you know why we make these divisions?", the teacher asked, testing her knowledge.

Azula chuckled and answered, "Yes, as to separate the lands of the rich, the poor and the exiled".

The teacher reeled back at her unfiltered answer but calmed herself, "Yes, that is correct, but we would rather say that they are distinguished by their differing economies and overall wealth, not the stature of the people there."

Azula laughed at her teacher, "We may as be honest about it, the truth is less painful than the lie". Azula not always honest, she always said things how she wanted people to see them. She had not found as many reasons to be as much a liar as her own nation's education system. She wanted to at least give the truth where it was needed, to spare those who would rather be hurt later, know at the moment. Like how her mother told her that she would leave, rather than leave her wondering whether she was the reason she left her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly filler but is designed to further Azula's character development and contrasting personality traits from canon.


	7. The Sword and the Pen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iroh takes Zuko on a short journey of self-discovery while Azula prepares to end her boredom caused by her brother's absence.

The waves washed along the side of the long steel vessel. Though it seemed like a warship, the vessel was merely one of the Royal Families personal transports. On the deck, looking out at the sea, was Prince Zuko, flicking his ponytail in the wind. His Uncle sat nearby, playing Pai Sho with the Elite Firebenders of all people, sharing tea with them. Not that they seemed to be bad people to Zuko, but their masks were even more intimidating than a normal Firebending soldier and he almost never saw their faces. However right now they had their helmets off and were strangely human for once.

"Prince Zuko! Why don't you try and face me off in Pai Sho again? I need someone to show these novices that they're as bad as they seem!", his chuckled chuckled, causing the firebenders to look at him with discontent, and put their helmets back on, returning to duty.

"When are we getting to the place? Shu Jing didn't you say?" he asked Iroh. The retired General sat there pondering the distance for a moment, but a soldier intervened, tipping his helmet off and pointing at the sun. "My Prince, it takes us three quarters of a day to reach Shu Jing from the Capital, so we left at mid-morning, and the sun is only mid-way to the horizon. We'll still be a few hours at sea before we dock."

The Prince felt awkward so gave the soldier a handshake, "Thanks, how'd you figure all that stuff out about the sun and its movement?" he asked in an intrigued tone.

The soldier chuckled and flipped his helmet back on, "You see, us sailors are trained in more than running the engines and how to swim. We've been trained to use our heads as sundials and the sun as a compass. We do need directions and in dire situations it's necessary to really know where you're going!" Zuko laughed at the sailor and gave him a handshake, "Good job, I never knew you were trained in all that kind of stuff!"

"Yes, we do train our sailors to be the best here the in Fire Nation", Iroh piped in, still trying to get his nephew to join him in a game of Pai Sho.

"Uh- yeah Uncle, I guess I can play Pai Sho... But first, I want to know more about what we're actually doing in Shu Jing.", Zuko asked, as he pulled himself down onto the stool, now sitting with the Pai Sho board in front of him.

As Iroh placed the pieces he started to explain, "You see, there's a man in Shu Jing, called Piandao. Once he was a legendary sword-fighter in the Fire Nation Army, but he resigned a long time ago. Now he has a dojo in Shu Jing, where I hope he will be able to train you in the art of the sword."

"Art of the sword? How will that help me become a better firebender?" Zuko asked, almost arrogantly.

"Well Prince Zuko, all forms of bending are connected, and bending is martial arts. As swordplay is quite a fine and accurate martial art, it should improve your understanding of fighting and tactics, which is a great skill for a future warrior and leader like yourself." Iroh guided, placing the last pieces on the table. "You see nephew, I do not play Pai Sho just because it's fun, I play it because of the great about tact and strategy involved, just like real fighting and leading in a real war. I was a general once, and Pai Sho is like a way use my skills again...".

"Huh, I guess you're right uncle. So you're saying if I learn swordplay it should benefit me as to understand tactics and fighting better?", Zuko asked, now deep in thought and well intrigued.

"Well yes that, and come on Zuko, it's a pretty cool skill! Might help you with the ladies..." Iroh jibed, elbowing him with an emphasis on 'ladies'. Zuko elbowed Iroh back, even let out a short chuckle. "Prince Zuko, the game begins", Iroh grinned, showing off how quickly he had laid out the pieces.

"Now, I believe it is my turn first?" Zuko questioned, trying to make sure he got the rules right... Again.

"Yes my young nephew, play your turn..." Iroh said with such a cunning grin, Zuko could just tell he was going to win. He picked up his first piece on the board and thought back to the games he had played with Azula. What would she do to beat their uncle? Make condescending remarks to get him off play? That sounded about right.

"Yeah Uncle, don't be so sure of yourself, I have a trick or two up my sleeve", Zuko blatantly lied, moving his first piece. Now he had to at least try and win, lest he look like a fool.

Princess Azula sat gazing out the window of the classroom, unsure of what to do with herself. She was already bored in class, not paying much attention to her teachers droning, and Zuko was gone with Uncle on a trip to some obscure town in the east of the Fire Nation for a week, leaving her to be alone in the palace and bored out of her mind. She had thought of pranking the guards but that might end badly, like the last time she got Zuko stuck into one of her pranks.

"Hey Azula, what-cha doing?" Ty Lee perked over, looking over at her work.

"Nothing, Ty Lee, just dying of boredom over here..." Azula joked, pretending to collapse dead.

"What's that drawing you made, it looks pretty good!", Ty Lee jibed, pointing at the artwork spread across what was meant to be a scroll for the Maths work they were supposed to be doing.

"Just a drawing of a dream I had..." Azula slurred, her head still in her arms on the table. It was a drawing of the old man and his dragon. She thought it was a pretty good drawing herself, having depicted the dragons scales, the man's long white hair blowing in the wind, and his detailed robes, adorned with dark red Fire Nation insignia. Of course it wasn't coloured though, being a sketch in math class. She was still intrigued in the dream and what it showed her, but it was a month or two ago, and it was starting to get hazy, so she decided to draw it down to remember.

"So what was the dream about?" Ty Lee inquired, pulling her head down to her arms, copying Azula.

"Uh... This old guy and dragon, we talked and it was weird..." Azula lied, not wanting to mention all the stuff with Zuko getting his face melted by his own father, and the fact she cried over her mother hating her.

"Was it something to do with Spirits maybe? I've heard about wise people like the Fire Sages having spirit dreams before..." Ty Lee thought to herself, pulling at her chin like she had a goatee.

The teacher called out to both of them, "Ty Lee! Princess Azula! Back to work!" This caused Mai, who was sitting across from them, to make a slight giggle, making both Azula and Ty Lee pull angry faces at her. Ty Lee of course was faking, and Azula was exaggerating to a degree. It was funny the fact they hadn't even done any work, and the teacher merely told them to go back to it, when they had done none at all.

Ty Lee turned back to Azula and whispered, "So how has it been in the Palace?"

Azula sighed and whispered back, "With Zuzu and Uncle on their trip, I'm pretty much alone, Dad doesn't really talk to me. The only people who talk to me are my instructors now, and they're just old and creepy..." She really wanted Zuko to hurry up and get back to the Palace, despite how much they fought, it was boring without him. Gazing back out the window she looked across the caldera to the Palace, and distinctly saw a number of carriages moving toward it. A war meeting again? Her father was always busy with the war, it was like the generals needed him to babysit them.

"Well I've got an idea, what about tomorrow night, you me and Mai go to Spring Festival. They wear masks there so we should be able to go there without being spotted." Ty Lee piped up, getting Mai's attention this time, having mentioned her name.

Mai looked at them both with a certain distaste, "How are we going to get out of our houses? ... And in Azula's case, the Fire Nation Palace of all places?"

Ty Lee pulled a sad face and sobbed, "Dang it, I was really looking forward for all us to hang out together."

Azula grabbed Ty Lee by the shoulder and pulling at her chin like she had just earlier, "Well I wonder how good Lo and Li are at lying. I think I can persuade them well enough... I'll pick you two up at just after school, and we're going to get to that festival!"

Mai smirked at the princess and replied, "Well that sounds good-"

"It's great! Ain't it Mai?!" Ty Lee butted in grabbing her by the shoulder and side hugging her.

"Uh- yeah... It'll be 'great'", Mai said, pulling herself out of Mai's grip.

Azula grinned and looked at the candle used for measuring time. Class was nearly over and then school would be too. She was looking forward to the festival, maybe a little too much. It was only fried food, masks and anonymity. The candle went out and the teacher stood from their chair.

"The class is finished. Remember to finish any work you haven't completed at home, and don't forget to prepare for tomorrow, we will be making festival masks in commemoration of the Spring Festival.", the teacher said. Azula pulled herself and Ty Lee up, Mai following from behind. They had a sneak out to plan.

Iroh pulled up his bags and grinned at his young nephew, "Well Prince Zuko! We've finally arrived in Shu Jing, there's still a fair walk up to our accommodation, but I'm sure we'll be fine!"

Zuko smirked, "Well let's hope the bed is good, I want to be ready for tomorrow". He pulled his bag up to his shoulder and followed his Uncle out the storage hold up to the deck of the boat. They were finally docked in Shu Jing, at sunset, as the sailor had predicted. The elite firebenders stood in at the bottom and top of the plank holding guard.

Iroh handed the captain a bag of coins, "For your troubles friend, we'll be here for a week, but you're welcome to sail elsewhere while Prince Zuko is trained".

The captain chuckled and shook the former general's hand, "No worry, I think the men deserve a vacation, they've been on duty across the world for months, and this was their 'break duty'.". Zuko could see the sailors faces light up at the word vacation, but held their mouths until the two royals walked down the plank.

The two elite firebenders waiting at the bottom pulled their helmets off and greeted them. The older one, who had a beard and topknot, shook Iroh's hand and smiled, "Greetings General Iroh, we are to be guarding you and your nephew while you are here in Shu Jing. We will take care of your belongings and defend you against any miscreants."

Iroh laughed and held out his bags, "Well then, would you two mind taking our bags. Don't worry, they're not that heavy." The two men looked at each-other before slowly nodding and taking Iroh and Zuko's bags.

Iroh chuckled and pointed up towards the town, "Follow me, I know where Master Piandao resides".

The two Elite Firebender looked in shock, "Wait, Piandao?", the younger said. "I haven't heard of him since I joined up, when they were telling us about the great warriors of the Fire Nation Army.", looking slightly scared.

The other firebender butted in, "He supposedly defeated hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers after he refused to rejoin the Army! Isn't he a little bit dangerous?", he said with caution.

Zuko reeled back, "Wait is this true Uncle? Is this man some kind of traitor?".

Iroh chuckled and dismissed their claims, "He's not a traitor, just an old friend. He did his part in the war, like we all did." Prince Zuko didn't get his Uncle sometimes, but he still respected his word. Piandao was not a traitor, despite what it seemed. The four walked up the hill, passing through market stalls of the town, which were closing down now it was nightfall. They finally got to a clearing where there was a small park, and were able to clearly see up the hillside, a large estate, which wasn't any less grand from the distance.

"That's Master Piandao's estate. Very luxurious is it not?" Iroh remarked, pointing at the stark walls that covered up what seemed to be the residence of the master. They continued up the hillside, following the steeper path and twisted from the town below. After a few tedious minutes walking up, they finally reached the gates. It was deathly quiet as Iroh knocked on the gate, with three loud bangs. A small metal slit opened up, and a man's eyes appeared, which disappeared as the gate opened. Standing before them was an older man, dressed in clean red robes with a topknot and sideburns.

He smiled and greeted Iroh, "Ah, great General Iroh, we meet again. Master Piandao has been expecting you and your nephew."

"Greetings Fat, it has been a long time. I hope we haven't come too late." Iroh said jokingly.

"Don't worry, I've only just made dinner, you and your nephew are welcome to join us."

The younger elite firebender poked his head in and said with some caution, "Could we also join? We haven't eaten since lunch, and that was only ship rations.", before the older firebender whacked him over the back of the head.

"Watch your manners boy!" before turning to Fat, "We would be honoured to enjoy some of your fine cooking Mr. Fat.", bowing a bit at the end.

"Thank you for the courtesy, you two can also join us, assuming you are here to accompany the royals." Fat replied, feeling a bit honoured with the respect, "Also, it's just Fat. Nothing more, nothing less".

Zuko was chuckling the entire time, smirking at the younger firebender's somewhat indolent behaviour. Now they were guided to the front door, where he would finally meet his new master, and learn the way of the sword.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the first part of three part arc. The arc covers character development vital to later parts of the story, which might not seem apparent at the moment. I have always wanted to write about how Zuko trained with his dao, and decided this would be an excellent opportunity to detail it.


	8. All Encompassing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training and preparation for greater things is a good pasttime.

Piandao calmly sat at his desk, writing calligraphy in the wake of sunset. He had heard Fat talking to others at the gate outside so he quickly assumed that General Iroh and his nephew, Crown Prince Zuko had arrived. The General had sent him a message by hawk three days earlier telling him that he wanted to have Prince Zuko trained in the way of the sword, as to help him in gaining skills and tactics necessary for his future. The General also mentioned the friendly rivalry between the Prince and his sister that had been in play since she learnt to firebend, and at that, fair better than her brother. Iroh sought to show Zuko that there was more to the world than firebending and that he could achieve anything he wanted. Giving him dreams to sit upon, Piandao assumed.

Fat opened the door, as expected, and introduced the arrivals, "Master, General Iroh and his nephew Prince Zuko, have arrived here, and would like to greet you".

"Very well, let them in, best not keep them waiting for dinner!", Piandao chuckled, bringing a smile to his student turned chef. Fat opened the door, letting the two royals in, before leaving for the kitchen, having to finish preparing the feast he was making for their arrival. Piandao got out of his chair and bowed at the General and Prince, who did the same out of courtesy.

Iroh came at him first, giving him a rather strong handshake, "It has been too long, my old friend".

The Prince turned to him and bowed once more, "It is an honour to meet you Master Piandao. I am glad that you are kind enough to accept me as your student, even if for a short time". Piandao smirked, knowing the boy had some respect him, Iroh had obviously told the Prince some things about him.

"Well I'd like to see your man's cooking, I am looking forward to see his work in action", Iroh chuckled, patting his belly as he spoke, making both Piandao and Zuko chuckle.

"Come down to the dining room, we had it set up just for your arrival", Piandao responded, motioning his hand for the two royals to follow him. The three walked down the stairs to the dining room, where they could hear Fat whisking away in the kitchen, the steam from his noodles filling the air, giving Iroh the shivers.

"Oh, if it tastes as good as it smells, I don't think I'll ever eat anything else again.", Iroh grinned, causing Piandao to smirk and call out as for Fat to hear him, "Don't flatter Fat too much General, he'll get a bit too cocky!". The two Elite Firebenders, who had been waiting outside, decided to walk in and greet Master Piandao, in hopes of securing their dinner.

The Elder stepped forward and bowed at Piandao, "It is an honour to meet you Master Piandao. Your servant Fat told us that we would be allowed to join you in this evenings feast."

Piandao chuckled and turned to Iroh, "Are these your guards? Seem to be quite courteous...".

Iroh smiled and called over the Elite Firebenders, "Yes Piandao they are mine, and the best on our ship, and they are two honourable men".

Piandao shook hands with the two men, "Good to meet you, you two are?".

The Elder chuckled, "My names Takumi, and this is my protege of sorts, Osamu.",

Osamu playfully punched Takumi, "C'mon, I've been in the palace guard for three years now, I'm more than a protege!".

"Well now, I think Fat will be out with the food in soon, so why don't we all sit?", Piandao asked the others, who all nodded in confirmation. The five sat down at the table with, the two guards at the back next to Zuko and Iroh, while Piandao was at the head of the table.

Piandao turned to Zuko, "So young Prince, do you know what we will doing to train you in the Art of the Sword?".

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm not sure... I know you're teaching me to use a sword, but I'm guessing there's more to it than that, Uncle wouldn't make us go all the way out here just for that".

Piandao laughed, "Yes you guessed right, we will not just be learning to use the sword, but training to calm the mind and use precision, as to elevate your skills further."

Iroh piped in, "Ahh so will we be drinking some tea?".

Piandao chuckled and acknowledged Iroh, "Not tea, but that still is a good idea". Being acknowledged Iroh grinned and winked at Zuko, making the Prince audibly sigh in frustration.

Fat walked out from the kitchen, holding a stack of rice and noodle dishes, "Master Piandao, dinner is served!". He proceeded to hand them out to those seated, before sitting down next to Piandao and giving himelf some food.

"Thank you Fat for making such a big meal today. It's rare we have this many visitors. Without further ado, let us begin this meal!", Piandao said, giving Fat a handshake afterwards. Iroh was the first to try the noodles, slurping up a near inhuman amount in one bite.

He sighed in happiness and applauded Fat, "Ahh... Fat this is the best noodles, I have had since... The last time I ate your noodles!".

Zuko picked up some with the chopsticks and ate it with a bit more grace than his uncle, and smiled after his first bite, "Even the cook in the palace can't make anything this sweet. How'd you make it?".

Fat chuckled, "Oh just honey sauce with some spices. It's my special recipe".

Iroh lifted his cup of water to toast him, "Let us commend Fat for this great meal with a toast!".

All the men lifted their cups, even the two guards sitting at the back, "To Fat!", they shouted with heart. They went back to eating, mostly silent except for the occasional slurp. It was a good meal, everyone agreed. Something good to have before the long day of training ahead.

The early morning haze confronted Azula wearily. She stood tall, dressed for school and prepared to get to the Spring Festival. Her two advisers stood behind her, and had been chatting about some old lady things before turning to Azula.

"Princess Azula, you told us you had an important mission to do? What do you need of us your highness?", Lo bowed, making Azula grin at the respect she garnered from the two elders.

"I wish for you two to foil up anything you can for tonight, I am going to the Spring Festival with Ty Lee and Mai...", Azula smirked, causing her advisers to step back a step.

"Your father, the great Firelord Ozai, banned you from going to such events, seeing them as a waste of your time that could be spent training and learning more skills.", Li advised, trying her best to make out a kind tone to the Princess.

"I don't need father's pandering all the time, neither do I need to dedicate my life to being bored. You will do this, or there will be consequences", Azula almost shouting them down.

"Your fury and wisdom is heeded my lady, we will do our best to make it seem as if you were training", Lo commended, with her and Li bowing before leaving the Palace grounds. Azula whistled over her palanquin bearers and prepared to be rode to school. Looking upon them, they seemed content with their job, and rather pleased to be doing the Princesses bidding.

"The propaganda really does work...", Azula thought to herself. She grinned and told them, "Now, we go to the Academy!", pointing across the city towards the hill upon which her school sat. They all bowed quickly, before picking up the palanquin and opening the door for the Princess.

Upon entering the palanquin she picked up her notebook and continued a drawing she was working on. It was another picture from her dream, this time her best rendition of the Avatar that 'she' killed. He was a adolescent airbender, similar in age to her, and he was covered with arrow tattoos, which Azula remembered from class was supposedly the mark of a master of airbending. Not that there was meant to be any masters, nor airbenders left since Sozin wiped them out. It made her think whether they were all gone, assuming that her visions were of a real future. The most intriguing thing about the Avatar was their white glowing eyes and tattoos, which she supposed was the Avatar's unique power. The Fire Nation education system wasted no time on dead cultures like the Air Nation, or even the actual features and powers of Avatar. She guessed there was no need, since no one had seen an Avatar in over a century.

Looking out the window she looked back out to the street, where people would always try to take a glimpse at the Princess. She appreciated the fact that the people wanted to see their Princess, but she would prefer that they see her as the warrior she was, rather than a little girl. She had the same issue with her Uncle for a long time but after he returned from his journey, she made sure to show him her power and capabilities, earning his respect. She didn't hate her uncle, but she looked down on him for the fact that he had given up his life achievement because of Lu Ten's death in Ba Sing Se. Yes, Zuko was right, it would have been saddening for him, but he could have instead used his anger to sally forth and annihilate the Earth Kingdom once and for all. It was his honour that was disgraced, but his heart was broken, unlike the walls he tried to breach. Azula saw the gates of the school fast approaching and called her palanquin to stop, and hopped out of it.

Walking toward the gate she turned and chuckled, "Be sure to be here when school ends, I require to be home very quickly".

Her palanquin bearers bowed and they praised her, "Your wish is our command, Princess", before picking the palanquin up and heading back to the palace. Azula turned around and saw Ty Lee and Mai waiting for her. Walking over Ty Lee gave her a complimentary hug and Mai huffed casually, silent as ever.

Ty Lee jumped back and grinned, "So is your plan good to go? Can we get to the Spring Festival?".

Azula chuckled and dismissed the uncertainty with a flick of her hand, "Of course Ty Lee! I will pick you both up as quickly as I can after school. I have made sure that my palanquin bearers will get me home earlier than usual so I can get out without anyone noticing."

Mai chuckled, "So how do you get out of the Palace of all places? I don't expect you to just dance out the gate".

"Oh don't worry Mai, the palace has many secrets, and I have a good idea where to go.", Azula laughed, patting Mai on the shoulder. Ty Lee grabbed them both and side hugged them together, uncomfortable for both Mai and Azula.

"We're going to have a great time girls! Aren't we?!", Ty Lee grinned.

Azula smiled genuinely and high-fived her, "Yes we will. Yes we will!". The school bell rung and they turned towards the classrooms. Now they had a day to get through.

Piandao knew this boy was different. The way he moved himself, how we showed resilience at all times, and his stubbornness, but it didn't make him a fool. Prince Zuko was the highest noble he had trained, yet he seemed to be doubting himself much. This was unhealthy, but at least he had hope and the will to get better. His skill at the sword was mediocre to begin with, unable to balance himself correctly, but after a few spars with Fat, the Prince seemed to be getting the hang of duelling. He was fierce and precise in his swings, always staying on target. Iroh sat next to Piandao, who was drinking tea with him, watching upon his nephews attempt at rock gardening. He was not the most calm fighter, and this aspect was exasperated when he was out of the fight and his task was 'boring' and 'slow'. Soon enough he had kicked a stone in frustration, which bounced off another to hit him back in the foot, stubbing his toe, causing Zuko to yelp in pain.

The former general laughed, "Prince Zuko! Do not fret, you can't give up yet!". Zuko looked at Iroh with contempt and tried again to make a suitable rock garden.

"Aha! I have an idea!", Zuko shouted, running around picking up all the rocks he could find. He got each of them and placed them in a kind of whirlpool pattern. Now Piandao was really interested. Perhaps the Prince had some artistic value?

Zuko placed more rocks spitting off the 'top' of his whirlpool and jumped up, blasting the rocks with a hot searing beam of flames, heating them up.

"Ah Prince Zuko? I don't think firebending is apart of rock gardening...", Iroh looked over with concern.

"That's what you say, but then look at this!", setting the grass below the rocks alight, lighting up his shape, revealing it to be a swirling flame, like a sun, resembling the ensign of the Fire Nation.

"Bravo Prince Zuko! It's art and national pride!", Iroh jibed.

Piandao raised his hand and clapped for the Prince, "My student, that is a rather unique and commendable work of art. How did you find it amongst the stubbing of toes and boredom?".

Zuko chuckled, "The Sun. It's burning hot and its everywhere. All encompassing, I guess you could say I wanted to show the true nature of everything, fire being like the sun, and I am a Prince of the Fire Nation".

Piandao walked over and patted him on the shoulder, "Good job Zuko, I believe we can start the next step of your training".

Zuko sighed in contempt, "Really, like more calligraphy or drawing?".

Piandao laughed before becoming serious, holding his hand on the Princes shoulder, "No Prince Zuko, you're going to make a sword".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second chapter of a three chapter arc. Now we introduce Piandao and two OC characters who will probably not unsurprisingly appear throughout the storyline, alongside Azula deepening her thoughts with her vision. Hoorah for character development!


	9. Freedom Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both prince and princess find freedom, a power underestimated by many.

A rhythmic clanging of metal echoed out of the forge, as if it was a lullaby for a conqueror. Prince Zuko wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking down at the hot metal blades below him. The prince was proud of the fact he had one upped his master and decided to make dual dao swords instead of a single jian, which was Piandao's preferred weapon. He blew a short flame from his mouth back onto the almost molten blades, heating them up even further. Outside on a bench, Uncle was watching him closely, as he had been intrigued into the ins and outs of sword-making.

"My nephew, are you tiring yet?", Iroh asked with a hint of concern. Zuko shook his head and pulled the hammer back up to his shoulder.

"This was something I had to do Uncle... I'm sure you'd understand", Zuko smirked, flinging the hammer back down one of the blades before repeating the same motion on another. Iroh visibly sighed and took to going back to a scroll he was reading. His nephew had always been the more stubborn of the two, always trying to be better than his sister led him to becoming quite annoying at times. But at least it meant he never denied effort into his work, the mindset of a good leader.

Piandao walked up to the bench and sat beside Iroh, jabbing him jokingly, "How's your nephew going? I see that you've taken to my old scrolls about 'Myths and Legends of the Fire Nation'".

Iroh chuckled, "Zuko is unsurprisingly hardheaded on his smithing like anything else, and the scroll is entertaining to say the least."

Piandao laughed and poured himself a cup of tea, gazing back at Zuko. The young prince was determined, no one could dispute that, but it was as if he would never give up. Literally, from all the swordmaster knew, Zuko could have easily been hammering at that sword for at least half an hour now.

Zuko chuckled and shouted to the two elders, alerting Iroh, who had almost dozed off through the rhythm of hammering, "I think it's done Master Piandao, should I go ahead and let my blades cool in the water?".

"Blades?", Piandao said confusedly, walking over to look at Zukos two red hot blades, "Ah... So you are going to make a dao. A unique choice, most would choose the dao over the jian...". He paused and saw Zuko holding the tongs, remembering to affirm his decision, "And yes... It would be best to cool your blades off now." Zuko smiled at Piandao's 'compliments' and rustled the blades into the water tray, causing the foundry to fill with steam. Walking out with Piandao he stood while the master returned beside Iroh.

"Master, I have to tell you, I chose the dao for a very specific reason. As a bender, I find it a much more relatable way of using a weapon... As like ones firebending, you may use both hands, but it is the combined movements that make it an effective art.", Zuko explained, kneeling down and trying to block the sun out with his hand.

"You seem to be well knowledged in the art of firebending, Prince Zuko...", Piandao said, hoping for an answer, intrigued as to how he was able to make such fine judgement.

"Well Azula's good at the moves, so I decided I may as well understand the theory if I have any chance to best her. Uncle recommends it, isn't that right?", he explained, jabbing at Iroh, causing him to flinch and almost spill his tea.

"Uh yes, I did recommend you read the scrolls on firebending theory. It seems to have paid off, has it not?", Iroh smiled before going back to his scroll.

Prince Zuko snorted out a wisp of fire from his nostrils and grinned, "It that I might know more than the old man himself".

Iroh chuckled, "Knowing is one thing, wisdom is another... Isn't that right Master Piandao?". Piandao gestured and nod and Iroh patted the Prince's shoulder. Zuko looked back to the two blades and thought back to his training. It was always on his mind. Was he good enough? At the sword, yes, it seemed so... But with his firebending... He still imagined Azula as his unbeatable opponent, always watching, always waiting.

The sun was nestled in clouds, shrouding the Caldera city under a slight afternoon haze. Princess Azula sat in her palanquin once again, her plan setting into motion. She had always liked strategy and working against the odds. Her father and advisers had both said it was a great skill to learn as a future leader of the Fire Nation, but the Princess herself just enjoyed making these convoluted plans. She glanced out the window, seeing the Palace walls ever-approaching in the distance.

She turned open her notebook and turned to the drawing of the Avatar once more. She had finished her sketches and decided to draw more features of the location. A large crystalline cave, guarded by earthbenders of a sort. She believed them to be some elite force from the Earth Kingdom, a petty sort who used fists of dirt and pillars of rock to fight. She also remembered a waterbending girl, older than herself now, with immense skill, even for some peasant. Using waves of water and blasts, Azula saw the girl hold off the elite earthbenders with little difficulty, which was a surprise, putting to the fact they were in a cave, an environment Azula assumed the earthbenders would be in their prime. Either she was a prodigy, or they were weak and misguided warriors.

The palanquin came to a sudden hold as she entered the grounds of the palace. The firebending guards quickly checked the palanquin and their commander greeted her with a bow and wave. She barely acknowledged the man with a flick of her hand, disinterested in the security procedure.

The princess heard distinctively, "You are all good to go. The Princess is safe". Azula chuckled, thinking how much effort the palace guards and servants put into catering to her every need and protection. It was given, putting that she was the Princess of the Nation, but couldn't help but pity them. Azula understood the political machine that was the Fire Nation, and came to the conclusion that these people were just glorified door-holders. The palanquin continued along up to the main entrance of the palace, and stopped right there, being laid down and her door open. The Princess smirked and saw her advisers waiting for her, instantly getting up and standing in front of them, almost covering over the two elderly women.

"My princess, we are glad for you have returned... But we wish to inform you we want little to do with your games", Lo said, almost ashamed of the Princess.

"Do you think this is a game! This is a test... Don't you understand?", Azula shouted at Lo, causing the elderly twins to shudder backwards.

"No my Princess, we do not understand...", the two said in almost perfect cohesion.

"If this works, my skill in strategy will be proven and I will garner more respect, even if father never finds out...", Azula jibed, disgruntling Li and Lo. The Princess then raised her hand and dismissed them, assuming they would do her bidding as she was escorted to her room by the guards. She walked down the hallways confidently, and reached the bedroom within no time.

She looked at the two guards, "You two may leave me now, I must complete extra study for school before my training sessions". The two guards slightly bowed and walked away, returning to their posts while Azula entered her room. She pulled out a set of seemingly plain red clothes from under her bed, which the Princess would never ordinarily wear. She tied her back into a braid to disguise herself further, and picked up the final piece from under her bed. An elegant yet traditional blue dragon mask, from the play "Love amongst the Dragons". It was the mask that the actor for the Dragon Empress would always wear and she believed it to be a reminder of her mother, having secretly taken it from her belongings after she left. Looking out the window she was able to see out to the marketplace and saw the colourful decorations. Soon enough she'd be walking amongst the people and more importantly, having a fun time.

She left the mask in a knapsack and tried to walk as casually as possible out of the room, quietly checking for any guards. Luckily for her there were none. Running out to the courtyard she opened up her map and almost laughed at the route she'd have to take, avoiding the guards and finding the tunnel she hoped her father hadn't meddled with. Already in the palace, Azula's journey was half complete. Now however she'd have to get out of the palace, a somewhat harder challenge than getting in.

The courtyard was silent as Prince Zuko walked up to his uncle and master, awaiting his arrival. The Prince held up a long curved sheath and tied it around his side, before whipping out his new dao, startling the two older men. He now stood proudly with unsheathed his dao in front of Uncle and Piandao. The swords glimmered in the low sunlight and Zuko swung them a few times just to show off.

Iroh clapped and raised his ever-present tea cup to the Prince, "Ah Prince Zuko! You've done it!". Zuko grinned and bowed to his Uncle before bowing to master Piandao, who had remained silent and acted somewhat out of place for the situation.

Piandao made a much slower clap and stood up smirking at the Prince, "Well... Now that you're so confident to show your new weapon, how about you show you can use it?"

Prince Zuko shuffled back as he lowered the swords, "Uh- I haven't trained with my-", before being cut off by Piandao's jian swinging out and held a few inches from his face.

"Now, we duel...", his master almost laughed, causing Zuko to slash his swords together, flinging Piandao's jian away from his face. Piandao raised his sword back into position, standing in a familiar form, almost hinting Zuko as to his next action. He swung and Zuko deflected his blades and attempted to unhand his master, who only skillfully flung back Zuko's dao and forced him back.

"Good use of your dao... But not good enough!", Piandao bided him, raising his jian and swinging in a glancing blow, which Zuko barely flicked off with the ends of his dao.

Zuko lowered his swords and stood strong, "I'm not afraid, even if you're better, I'm not afraid...". It was almost as if he was treating his master like his younger prodigy of a sister. Piandao thrusted forward towards Zuko, who dropped and dodged his move, swinging around and holding another defensive position, this time against the stone embankment. Piandao parried believing to have already finished Zuko off in this position, however the prince quickly denied him any idea of a victory by jamming his swords into the embankment and kicking up dirt into the sword-masters face. Piandao almost blinded by the dirt covered his eyes, and gave Zuko a moment to scale the embankment and stand above Piandao.

Zuko chuckled, "I have the high ground now master? What can you do?", mocking him for his jibing moments before.

"Something", Piandao smirked before jumping up and swinging at Zuko's feet, forcing him to trip backwards into the bamboo garden. The Prince, quickly dashed of his hopes, paced himself back into the bamboo, hoping to avoid a direct confrontation once more.

Piandao quickly chased behind shouting out, "Running isn't what I had in mind!". Zuko turned back towards him and with two quick slashes, bamboo tumbled onto his master, causing him to flinch and deflect it and cut the bamboo in half, making Zuko scatter back towards the courtyard once more.

Piandao applauded his work, "Good use of your surroundings! I'm impressed Zuko!". Zuko turned back and let Piandao charge at him, attempting to foul him by sidestepping along the embankment. The older master caught on and rather decided to jump at the Prince, who was barely able to dodge the parry of Piandao's sword. He tripped over his own feet and rolled down the embankment, causing him to yelp in pain.

The sword-master bided the 13-year-old prince, "You yet need to find your footing, for without it, you seem lost...". Zuko growled at what he saw as an insult, lifting himself up and swinging his swords. Piandao stood where he had a minute earlier and now he was in the weak position again.

Zuko smirked, "You better get down here, or you should forfeit!", trying to push his buttons. This gave the sword-master a slight turn of face, before he quickly skid down the slope and struck Zukos dao. Holding him off, Zuko attempted to swing his blades back out but only left himself with one blade, the other flung out across the courtyard by Piandao's jian.

"I'm not giving up yet!", Zuko shouted, swinging his blade across and above his own head, striking down on Piandao's own, causing him to flinch backwards. The prince then moved into a stronger stance, as if he was sparring with Fat again. Their two blades struck once more, causing Iroh, who had been watching the entire time, to flinch as if the duel was an actual fight to the death. The Prince continued to parry his sword, attempting to strike Piandao with a long swing, but keep being pushed back. Finally he was able to swing up, and Piandao barely caught the parry with his blade sideway. Without a moments notice, Piandao struck Zuko's sword to his feet and knocked him down to the ground.

"Good job, but I think I've won now...", Piandao jibed, standing victorious over the Prince.

"I think not", Zuko snapped, grabbing his other sword and thrusting it at the masters neck, which he only was able block by doing the same to Zuko. The two stood silently for a moment, unnerved by the situation.

"A tie perhaps?", Piandao suggested, and Zuko nodded in compliance. As they sheathed their swords, a audible sigh of relief came from Iroh.

"Good job nephew! I would say it is time for some tea?", Iroh suggested. Piandao raised his hand to interrupt and turned to Zuko.

"Young prince, you have learnt everything I could teach you... I think you must continue training your art. You are immensely skilled.", Piandao complimented the Prince, bringing a smirk reminiscent of his sisters to his own face.

"Well my firebending will always be more important, but this... It is a good skill. I have learnt much from these past days, thank you master", Zuko bowed, ending on a more humble note. The day was ending, but a new part of the young Princes life had just begun, without him even knowing it.

Azula dashed across the rooftops of the Fire Nation Capital, jumping across the nobles villas, leaving as quickly as they came. The blossoming leaves of the springtime nestled on the red tiled rooves, only to be crushed by her light but powerful feet. She slid down a final roof and gazed across the small street to see a large nobles house. It was Ty Lee's residence. Hopefully the acrobat had gotten her sisters to make it out that she wasn't there. Awaiting her arrival, the disguised Princess sat on the roof with her mask half on, unable to stay in place as she gracefully crossed the caldera. She was startled when another masked face appeared from behind her and almost made her squeal. She immediately realised from the clothing that it was just Ty Lee and shook herself in relief.

Ty Lee took off her mask and hugged Azula, "Hey Azula!", making Azula cringe and attempt to push her off, only to find her friends hug to be a bit stronger than she'd expected. "So are we going to Mai's house now?", Ty Lee asked, intrigued by the fact only Azula had arrived.

"Well, we may as well, its only just up the road isn't it?", Azula asked, actually unsure as to where Mai's house was. She had never been there, her parents far too humbled to let the likes of her, the Princess of the Nation into their home.

"I'm down here! Are you blind!", the two heard call out, looking down at the garden below them stood Mai, disguised like them, not wearing her conventional dark and brooding clothing, rather a simple red outfit.

"Uh, yeah... We totally saw you!", Ty Lee attempted to lie, only to make Mai snicker.

"Well come on you two, we haven't got all afternoon!", Mai brooded, waving them towards the festival they could distinctively see towards the centre of the caldera.

"Ah but you see... We do have all afternoon. I got covered, the guards won't start looking until at least dinner time when father realises I won't show up to our daily session of silence at the dinner table.", Azula half-joked, making Ty Lee giggle and even make Mai almost laugh.

"Now come on let's go girls!", Ty Lee piped up grabbing Azula by the arm and jumping down next to Mai, shocking them both. The three started to pace themselves through the crowd, now with their masks firmly in place, joining the festival goers in the capital. Soon enough they arrived at the first stalls and Azula decided it would be best to try and buy something interesting. As the Princess she had a fair amount of money at hand, but she couldn't bring much, lest she may find desperate thieves on her tail.

The three girls stood infront of a stage where they were performing a traditional dance, one which Azula couldn't bother to remember the name of. It involved cheap firebending tricks and some odd moral story. She was one for tactics and warfare not dancing and stories.

"I wonder what they're trying to represent?", Ty Lee asked her two friends, unsure what to make of the dance.

Mai smirked, "Well I know. It's one of those silent plays where they show a story, but it is open to interpretation what they actually mean...", trying to sound as smart as she could.

Azula sighed, "Pfft. It doesn't look like it means much more than-", before being cut off by the sight of a familiar event. A mother with her children, attempting to protect them, but being forced to fight off her enemies. It reminded her of her mothers stories. Maybe that was it, protecting your family, those you love. She guessed it could translate to the idea of protecting their nation and people as a whole, in her position.

While Mai and Ty Lee looked at the dancers for a bit more, she walked off and looked at a weapons stall. They were selling old armor she assumed they got from retired soldiers. It was quite interesting to see some of these up close. She decided to inquire with the stall owner, a tough looking man with visible burns on his body.

"Excuse me, how much would you take for this armor?", the Princess asked, trying to sound as quaint and disguised as possible in saying so.

"Get lost little girl! You think you're buying this armor? You've probably never even seen armor like this before!", the man shouted at her. The man was unsure how to react when she lit her hands with blue fire, but he made a shout to the guards, but not before she was able to burn his face a little more and fling him across the street.

"Ah- Looks like we should be off!", Azula joked, running towards Ty Lee and Mai, grabbing them by the shoulders and pulling them into the fray. The guards shouted at them to stop, but Ty Lee just kicked over a stall to stall them.

The acrobat giggled as they attempted to escape the clutches of probably some of the best trained common guards in the world, "This is fun!". Even though she found the situation quite ridiculous, Azula couldn't help but laugh in agreement.

"Sure is!", she shouted, blasting down a gate and running into a courtyard, the guards still following their every move. They ran through and Azula made quick work of the area, casting a wall of fire behind them, in the hopes that less of the guards were firebenders than she thought. This theory was disproven when moments later a fireball flew past her head. The three sprinted out of the courtyard and downhill, heading back towards the nobles houses and towards the palace.

"Uh Azula, I don't think we should be going to the palace when you weren't even supposed to have left?", Ty Lee questioned, looking back at the dozen guards now a hundred metres behind them. As they approached the palace she saw the guards near the outer gates pull up their spears, and they instantly knew they'd need another plan of action.

Mai abruptly shouted, "Turn right! I know where to go!". This confused both Azula and Ty Lee who under the circumstances just went ahead and complied, following her down an alley and into what seemed to be a kitchen. Standing in front of them was a middle aged lady making soup, who was as shocked to see them as they were her.

"Zeiyu!", Mai cried, "Have my parents found out about me leaving yet?".

The cook, Zeiyu patted her on the shoulder, "No don't worry, you're all good, but your friends shouldn't probably be going straight into the house right now".

"Ah, so this is your house!", Ty Lee cheered, the confusion finally solved. They had just escaped to Mai's house, and luckily it was close to Azula's path into the palace too.

"Well, it could have turned out worse", Azula sighed, sitting down on a stool in the quite large kitchen.

Mai huffed, "Azula... You almost killed somebody".

"That's what I mean Mai. If I had killed them, it would have been worse!", Azula said, showing much caution in her voice.

"Obviously, do you know how much the guards would pay for your bounty?", Mai joked.

"No not that. Despite how 'evil' I am, I really haven't killed anyone...", Azula sighed, before smirking, "Yet". This almost broke Mai into laughter before she returned to her normal solemn mood.

"We should probably get going Azula, my parents are going to be furious once my sisters tell them I broke out!", Ty Lee grabbed the Princess by the shoulder and she followed. The she turned to Mai, "Well did we have a good time?", as if she was trying to beat her for an answer.

"Yeah yeah... Get out of here", Mai almost joked, bringing another smile to her face. She had smiled a fair bit that afternoon, and Azula couldn't help but feel happy for her friend. She usually didn't feel happy about things, but this time she really did. Maybe she was different now. It wasn't just the dreams. She was understanding how she should act, independent of everyone, even her father. She felt free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the third chapter of the three chapter arc. Heck yeah some sword fighting with Zuko and Piandao and Azula's trio have some fun at the Spring Festival. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter!


	10. The Path of Failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That feeling when you know something bad is about to happen...

The wispy afternoon breeze filled the courtyard of the Fire Nation Palace, and a single young princess sat alone. She was doing something she wouldn't have expected to have spent much time doing, that being meditation. Her Uncle had been going at her for weeks about her attempting to connect spiritually and trigger another dream like the one she had more than a year prior. Despite her eyes being closed, she could hear the distinctive footsteps of her uncle, and presumably her brother. They were fast paced at first, but seemed to slow a short distance away from her.

Her uncle cleared his throat before inquiring, "My niece, I came with Zuko wondering if you wanted to take a break from your meditation? You've been sitting out here since midday. You must have had a lot to think about..."

"What else would I be doing? Taking a leisurely stroll across the palace?" Azula jibed, flicking her hair and returning to a still emotionless form.

Zuko chuckled, "Uh well yeah, I thought we could go see what's happening around the palace. All we seem to do is school and training, so I thought that holidays have started, we could have some fun... For old times' sake?"

Azula almost smiled at her brother, "Ugh... Okay Zuko, but I want some more time here. Just give me half an hour." before mocking her Uncle, "I might even achieve spiritual enlightenment in that short span of time!"

Iroh took the joke well and let out an honest laugh before patting her on the shoulder, "I hope you can find something in your meditation. Just don't take too long, your brother is bound to get rowdy."

Azula closed her eyes and shooed her family members off, "I'll be quicker the more alone I am. Go on!" She heard their footsteps echo away and then took herself back deep into her thoughts. She recollected her dreams again, trying to make sense of the vision. She knew it represented some possible future, but had no understanding of what she could do without knowing when these events could possibly occur. The old man, whoever he was, somehow he had to be related to her by blood. Perhaps a Fire Sage who married into the noble line of the Fire Nation? Or a Firelord of times past? But she'd have recognised a Firelord from all the studies they do of Fire Nation history at her school.

Unknowing of what her vision meant, and certain her Uncle had made sure she didn't find out, at least at this instant, she decided to focus on her firebending. She imagined herself doing all the complex forms her teachers had shown her and the rare techniques that her father and uncle both possessed. Lightning-bending and Fire Breath. She tried to imitate them sitting down with her eyes closed to not much avail. She could thrust fire from her fist, but not her gut, not energy from her very soul. She had to master these techniques eventually or her father would make her look like a fool or worse challenge her. She had no doubt in her father's pure power and accuracy. But he seemed to almost be less tempered than herself, a trait he must have looked down upon. Like Zuko, in her own way, Azula was empathetic and not an autocrat like her father. She would rule with a tempered iron fist.

Prince Zuko strode down the hallways of the palace with his Uncle at tail. He was wearing his armour out because court convention requested that he wear his armour when the palace has high ranking guests, in this case the generals of the Fire Nation. His Uncle grabbed him by the shoulder stopping Zuko who had been adamant to walk aimlessly around the palace waiting for Azula to finish her meditation.

"My nephew, why don't we get some tea while we wait for Azula. You might be doing training afterwards, so it's best to be energetic for then, not now." Iroh keenly smiled. Zuko jokingly pouted and walked along with Iroh towards one of the small seating areas in the palace.

Wanting to get a conversation started, Zuko inquired, "So Uncle, is there anything for you to do today?"

This made Iroh laugh and almost spill the teapot he was filling, "Well as a retired General and Prince, I really have nothing to do but make tea all day!"

Zuko chuckled before continuing, "What about the war meeting? I'm sure father would agree to your counsel."

Iroh turned his head and looked out the window, "War is not my place anymore, besides your father doesn't really approve of me at all, I'm more of a novelty to him nowadays. A relic from past battles and losses in the Earth Kingdom".

"What about the other generals? They would surely approve of your counsel at the meetings. You were a general for more than the Siege of Ba Sing Se right? You had some good battles too?"

Iroh sighed, "I guess so, Prince Zuko. I rather not intrude though..." He finished pouring the tea out of the pot into their cups, and Zuko was quick to try and blow on it to cool down, not helping it much, being a firebender and all.

They sat for a few moments, looking out at the afternoon breeze, the orange haze slowly dominating the sky. It was still winter in the Fire Nation, but the evergreen trees and tropical climate made it only seem more mild than usual.

"You know what Uncle, I've got an idea!" Zuko piped up, drinking down his tea. Even Iroh was surprised for the Prince to take down a single cup in such speed.

"What exactly would that be?" Iroh sat sipping from his cup of jasmine tea, as his nephew stood above him as if about to give a victory speech.

"You'll see! Come on!" Zuko jibed again, starting to pace himself out down the hallway.

"At least let me finish my tea!" the retired general shouted out, hoping that his nephew wouldn't do anything stupendous while he drank the last of his tea.

Azula sat alone still in the breeze, gazing out at the ridge of the caldera from her position in the courtyard. The Princess had been meditating for a good few hours and little had come to her from her vision. She had analysed the details over and over again. The Agni Kai duel between her brother and father, the death of the Avatar and her final defeat. All of these events, she could tell, had to do with her identity and actions. Azula thought maybe she was told of these futures to make one that would be better for her. Not that she was some destined messiah or something, her Uncle just kept giving off that vibe with the secrecy.

She had continued her meditation, and finally something started to happen. She kept seeing a strange flashing of images in her mind, as if her own mind was trying to tell her something. Focusing on these she was able to pick up some recognition. It was a part of her dream. Her head started to throb as the images became clearer, before somehow she heard a booming voice in her head, "AND SUFFERING WILL BE YOUR TEACHER!" Her own father, screaming into her mind. Except he wasn't there, he was in a war meeting.

"Maybe it's all catching up with me!" she shouted aloud, finally appeased after hours of meditation, but quickly came to the realisation that it wasn't her meditation. It was the events that transpired in her vision, they were really about to happen.

Getting up she called out for the guards, "Where is my uncle and brother! I need to find them immediately!"

The senior guard kneeled before her, "According to the rotation, they were last seen having tea in a small dining area, the one closest to the throne room. Why do you ask?"

She dismissed him, "It doesn't matter why, what matters is that I find them before..." stopping mid-sentence, not wanting to trail off on her vision to her personal guard. The princess slammed through the doors into the palace and started running towards the tea room that they were hopefully still in. If the vision was really a possible future, maybe Azula could save Zuko.

Prince Zuko paced up towards the throne room where the war meeting was currently taking place. He was stopped by the guards who didn't mutter a word, but played out that he wasn't allowed in the meeting. This disgruntled the young prince greatly, as he knew he was the heir to the Fire Nation, their Crown Prince, yet he wouldn't be led into such a simple thing like a war meeting.

"Let me in!" the Zuko shouts at the guards, who remain still and immovable. His Uncle arrived behind him and placed his hand his shoulder as to comfort him.

"Prince Zuko, what's wrong?" Iroh asks, looking at the Prince's agitated expression.

"I want to go into the war chamber-", Zuko explains, pointing at the gaurd, "but the guard won't let me pass!"

Iroh takes Zuko and leads him away, "You're not missing anything, trust me. These meetings are dreadfully boring."

Zuko smiles at his Uncle optimistically, "If I'm going to rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can?"

That brought a smile to the retired generals' face and he patted his shoulder, "Very well. But you must promise not to speak. These old folks are a bit sensitive, you know?"

Zuko grins and bows gracefully, "Thank you, Uncle".

The young prince and old general walk past the guards and enter the war room. It is covered with dark red curtains like the door itself at there is a massive long table in the centre of the room with a map of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation laid across it. Along the sides of the table sat numerous generals, many of them looking a great deal older than General Iroh himself who had been retired for some time. At the head sat Zuko's father, Firelord Ozai, basking as silhouette behind a wall of fire, all of them silently sitting. One of the generals stood up upon the table and started presenting his plans. Iroh knew him as General Bujing, a cruel but efficient leader within the Fire Nation military.

"The Earth Kingdom defenses are concentrated here." Bujing pointed with his stick on the map. "A dangerous battalion of their strongest earthbenders and fiercest warriors. So I am recommending the forty first division", moving the representative piece on the map to the location of the enemy defences.

Another sitting at the table called him out, "But the forty-first is entirely new recruits. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion?".

Bujing curled his lips and smiled coldly, "I don't. They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear. What better to use as bait than fresh meat?" ending his reply with a sadistic chuckle.

This infuriated Prince Zuko, who raised himself from his seat, gathering the attention of all at the meeting, "You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?" All the soldiers looked on at Zuko, who came to realise what he had just said. He could see the flames of his father's throne rise behind him and knew that he had made a massive mistake.

He heard his father's booming voice, "Prince Zuko! Your challenge against General Bujing is an act of complete disrespect", causing the prince to reel back as he stared his father's silhouette in the eyes. "For that there is only one resolution... An Agni Kai".

He looked down at General Bujing and smirked, feeling confident against the older man, "I am not afraid!" he shouted, directed at the general and his father. Suddenly the doors of the chamber opened and Azula dashed in, wearing her armour and sweating from her forehead. Regaining her posture she looked upon the situation and stared her uncle dead in the eye, "I'm too late..."

She heard her father's voice echo over, "Your brother has committed a great disrespect Azula! He must have an Agni Kai". Soon enough it was spilling over her mind, and she almost fell to her knees it shock. How could she resolve something that was doomed in the beginning? There were many options, but Azula only had one she could take.

The Firelord sat in his chambers, getting changed into his sparring gear, knowing what was about to come. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and lit a fireball in his hand, briefly testing his proficiency with firebending.

A servant called out to him, "Your highness, Princess Azula seeks to confide with you at this instance!"

Ozai huffed, "I think she understands what's going on. Tell her to leave!" He heard not much for a few moments until he saw his servant knocked out and flung to the ground. Before him stood his daughter, looking as if she was ready to kill him.

"Father! I demand you let me fight for your honour! I wish to prove my skill in the coming Agni Kai!" she shouted, impressing the Firelord fairly.

"Well Azula, I see you've caught onto my doings, hopefully Zuko hasn't yet. I would rather surprise him", he grinned cunningly. "I suppose I can give you the honour. You are immensely skilled and I will uphold my ideal, the strong against the weak. You are strong my daughter."

Azula made a fake smirk, "Thank you for this honour father. I will not lack to impress you."

Ozai stood up from his bed and towered above his 11 year old daughter, "You understand that if you fail me, you will suffer the fate your brother rather would".

"Yes I do father. That's why I will do this on a whim. I want to prove to you I am more than a skilled firebender. I am your daughter!"

Ozai dismissed her and started to get back into his regal robes, looking back at her walking out. She walked with such a conviction, and Ozai didn't trust her. She knew she would do his bidding, but she had her own ambitions, just like he did to his own fathers. Ozai would have to be prudent to make sure he could mould her into the warrior he needed to win the war, not a weak follower of idealism like her brother. She was going to be his dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This precludes the Agni Kai and features the first proper canon piece from the series, the war meeting. This entire story so far has led up to his chapter and I wrote it with the intention of being as deep and fulfilling as possible to what I've written prior.


	11. Agni Kai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Destiny proves itself the true foe of our Fire Nation siblings.

The Agni Kai chamber was filled to the brim with nobles, generals and other notables of the realm. Only a few hours prior had Prince Zuko been challenged to an Agni Kai, unknowingly to him by his father. Even his uncle Iroh sat in the chamber afraid beyond belief. He had tried to warn his nephew but to no avail, he knelt below him, awaiting his opponent. The old general could see Bujing from across the chamber, smirking in his assumed victory, safely sitting amongst the other generals.

Behind the general sat the ambitious Commander Zhao, smirking at what he saw of the Prince, "General Iroh, your nephew is a fool... Does he even know what he has done?"

Iroh grabbed the Commander by the arm, forcing Zhao to look him directly in the eyes, "My nephew may be foolish, but do not tempt fate Commander... You may find everything does come around... Eventually!" Iroh said before pushing the Commander back to his seat. They both looked back to the platform and Zuko flung off his ceremonial robe, raising himself and facing where his opponent would soon appear.

Zhao chuckled and turned back to Iroh, "So I wonder… Where's your niece? I doubt she'd miss her brother's extravagant mistake!"

Iroh smirked and chuckled, "You're right Zhao, she won't.", turning back to the platform and pointing to Zuko's opponent. The opponent de-robed, and the expected Firelord was nowhere to be seen, but rather his 11 year old daughter, fists drawn. Zhao flinched back and realised what was about to occur, reeling back into his seat.

"I believe I was misinformed of this duel?" Zhao questioned the old General.

Iroh chuckled and smirked, "This is a rather upturned movement by my niece, rather expected though, and she is quite the warrior..." Iroh was laughing on the outside, but fearful on the inside. He knew the fate that would befall the child that failed in the duel, and he could do little to prevent it.

Prince Zuko looked upon his sister, standing across the chamber. He expected the old general Bujing, not a fight with his sister. He stared into her eyes, and could see the emotion, the pain, the weakness she held. Zuko knew this was not something Azula would take lightly, but still was fearful of what she intended to do. He could never defeat her in an Agni Kai.

"Azula, what are you doing here?" Zuko questioned, shocked to see his sister standing before him.

Azula confided her feelings and answered, "Be grateful, I have saved you from something far worse!" Zuko turned his head to the side, seeing his father smirking from above. His courage turned to fear and he dropped his fists.

"I don't want to fight you Azula, it doesn't have to be this way!" Zuko shouted at her, hoping for a more amicable response.

"Fight me Zuko! Do it! Prove it to me! Don't be weak!" Azula shouted back at him, pulling out her fists and setting them alight with dark blue flames.

Zuko pulled himself up, wiping the little tears he had on his face and lit up flames reminiscent of his dao, "I will no longer beg. Let us fight!" Azula immediately took this as Zuko's invitation to fight, as so she struck out a wave of fire in front of him, blinding him of her location. The attack wasn't of much effect as Zuko was able to kick straight through the flames and try and sweep her with a fire blast of his own, causing Azula to jump back and hold a more defensive position.

"Getting better Zuzu?" Azula jibed before throwing another kick, forming a pillar of fire that smacked Zuko to the ground, causing him to shout in pain. As Zuko wiped the blood from his face and got back up, he got back into form and smirked at his sister.

"Come on, that's all you've got?" Azula shouted back at Zuko, forming a circular blast of fire and sending it at him. The Prince jumped above her attack, using his firebending to blast him further, before shooting down a blast from above, which Azula blocked with a swing of her arm. Zuko now standing behind Azula, used his firebent dao to slash at her in a flurry, attempting to recreate the moves he had used when fighting against Master Piandao. It was little use as she was able to block these slashes with her flame covered fists.

"Swords? I think you could do a little better than that!" Azula jibed, jabbing Zuko in the shoulder and flinging him to the ground. The Prince tried to ease his burnt shoulder and rolled back to his feet, now on the defensive. His sister threw a flurry of blasts at him, forcing him to edge back, before she tried sweep her foot at his face. The anger caused by the pain and sense of betrayal he was feeling made Zuko feel almost invincible as he grabbed his sisters flying foot.

"That's ENOUGH!" Zuko shouted, before pushing his sister back with a jab of fire to the gut. Azula was injured enough now to start letting her emotions bleed in and as she wiped the blood from her nose, she almost dropped a tear. The Princess could almost feel her father's eyes at her every move, and tried to keep her posture and mind on focus, trying not to let out any inkling of care she had for Zuko.

The two siblings eyed each other before drawing flames from their fists, ready to pounce at each other. Zuko drew the blades of fire from his fists once more, while Azula draped out two gauntlets of fire. Azula was the first to flinch and run in, throwing blasts at Zuko's face, hoping to knock him out. Her brother had other ideas and blocked her attacks with his blades, pushing them at her as to jab her with their fiery tips. Azula caught on and imitated her in drawing her own blades of fire, holding one upward and the other downward, blocking Zuko's jabs, forcing them to both parry.

"A swordfight is it?" Azula chuckled, jumping up and forcing Zuko to block her from above. As she landed behind her brother, he attempted to form a shield of flames but it was no use and she grazed his gut with her blades. Zuko threw an upper punch to get Azula off balance and she responded with a sharp kick into his arm. She jabbed her brother in the gut once more and blocked another attempt at slashing her with a blade of fire, kicking Zuko to the ground, leaving him out of breath and defenceless.

Zuko looked up as his sister stood above him, as if to declare a victory, "Face your fate Zuko. Don't make this harder than it has to be..." raising her fist as to make the final punch to his face, customary to any Agni Kai.

Zuko didn't give up however and as if to scream at her, let out a bellowing wave of fire from his mouth, pushing her back and gaining back his footing. Lost in the moment, Azula pulled out her fists and attempted to hold her stance, but was simply hit by Zuko's fire breath, falling to the ground. Azula threw her fist at Zuko, but was kicked back by a low kick, grazing her face, and seemingly knocking her out. Now as the seeming victor, Zuko looked down at his sister and felt enraged. Not at her, but at his father, and looked up at the Firelord, who continue to grin at the show that had been put on for him.

"Is this what you want father! For us to fight each other to the death?" Zuko screamed in pure fury, catching Ozai off guard.

Ozai laughed at his son, "Not to the death, only to finish the Agni Kai, you fool..."

Zuko looked back down at Azula and decided to take his fate into his own hands, "Azula... I am a coward... You know how this must end!"

His sister, now fully conscious, pulled herself up and got back into her stance, "I'm sorry Zuko. You have made a great sacrifice..." speaking out before throwing a flurry of blasts at Zuko, who barely blocked them. She kicked him in chest, finally breaking his guard and Zuko closed his eyes as she uppercut him, blasting him into the air and a good way across the platform.

Azula slowly walked up to Zuko, pulling her fist up, taking a moment to look around her. Generals, admirals, nobility and merchants. Her uncle and father. All before her, witnessing her gracious victory. She stared at the Fire Nation drape in front of her and questioned herself, thinking what her vision showed her.

The old man's voice echoed in her head, "Oh Azula, don't fret yourself, the future is not certain yet..." Azula looked down at her brother, feeling the flames in her palm and the eyes of her father upon her. Zuko almost was crying, but she could see him nodding, as if to agree that she must do what must be done.

She mumbled to herself, "Not yet", driving her palm down and making a blinding blue blast of fire, hearing Zuko's screams echo deep into her mind as she pulled herself back. She pulled herself up and looked at her brother's face, as he had scrunched himself up in mortal fear.

Opening his eyes, Zuko realised his face wasn't burnt, touching his cheekbones and eye with his left hand, "Azula... Wait-", before he was cut to black by Azula's foot hammering his head into the ground.

The Princess stood up and looked at her father, who almost had a face of disgust, directed at both her and Zuko. She walked back across the arena as the overseer shouted her name as the victor. Azula knew she hadn't won, she had lost her own innocence and mind in a game with her father. As for her brother, she didn't know what awaited him, but soon heard her father's booming voice with the answer.

Firelord Ozai stood up, as to greet his subjects, "For his great failure in this duel and show of cowardice, Prince Zuko is hereby banished from the Fire Nation, and can only return if and when he has captured the Avatar, as is the tradition".

Azula looked back at her father as she pulled her ceremonial robe back on, "I believe that I will take my leave father. I am sure Uncle will attend to Zuko...", before looking back at her Uncle and saw the tears coming down from his face, mirroring her own. She had beaten back destiny, but still failed Zuko nonetheless. She wasn't the Avatar, she wasn't perfect. Azula ironically now found serenity in her own failures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The entire story as so far has led up to this fight which one could expect is very different to the only Agni Kai that Azula and Zuko fought in canon. There is no hate, only resentment and an untamed rivalry. If one hasn't noticed yet, I have one-upped both of their firebending abilities from canon due to their frequent sparring sessions and creation/imitation of techniques. This proves a trouble for their enemies later in the story, as one will soon see.


	12. Unburnt and Unbroken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fallout of a battle against ones own fate is never good.

Within a small room of the Fire Nation Palace, the Crown Prince lay unconscious, his ceremonial garb in tatters after the Agni Kai duel he had only an hour earlier. The room was intended as the palace infirmary for the common guards and servants but as Prince Zuko had been exiled his father refused he be taken to the Royal Infirmary, as it would defeat the purpose of said declared exile. Outside the room stood his sister and uncle, cautious not to enter while Zuko rested. He hadn't found out about his fate yet, and Azula had elected herself to be Zuko's figurative punching bag in the situation. Zuko shuffled in the bed, reaching for his throbbing head, bruised and battered from the kick and uppercut Azula had delivered.

"Nurse! I need... I need water!" he called out hoping for an attendant to at least give him the privilege of some 'royal' service.

"Uh Azula, shouldn't we help Zuko, he's in quite a lot of pain", Iroh asked, turning to Azula, having heard Zuko call out.

"I'll take care of this Uncle, I was the one who kicked him in the head anyway...", Azula said, patting Iroh's back and walking into the infirmary and looking upon Zuko.

He had his burnt shoulder bandaged and as well as another covering his neck. She assumed she had battered him a bit, but not as much as it turned out to be. In a way she was almost proud of Zuko, he actually nearly defeated her and was able to continue fighting quite injured. She could also clearly see that the customary shaving of the head was completed after she had left, now the only bit on hair on Zuko's face beside his eyebrows was hanging through his ponytail.

"You're not a coward y'know?" Azula sighed, standing at the end of bed, glancing at Zuko's rather wary face.

"Uh... Can you go get me some water, I'm dying here!" Zuko grumbled, trying to move his neck bandages to no avail.

Azula sighed once more before walking over and picking a cup from the nearby desk, then handed it to Zuko. The Prince flinched back and snatched the cup from Azula's hand, before rolling over to his side, as to avoid looking at his sister.

"You should be happy Zuko, I could have melted half your face off, but chose not to..." Azula grumbled at him, forcing Zuko to turn back over and look at her.

"So... I guess you're going to tell me what father's doing with Me.", Zuko sighed, placing the cup back in Azula's nimble hands.

She clasped the cup tighter and looked down at her brother, aching in pain and desperate for some kind of assurance, "I'm sorry Zuko, and you're not going to like what father's making you do."

The Prince pulled himself back up, "Please tell me, I don't want to walk into the throne room and have him fire up at me for my failures."

"You won't be allowed to go to the throne room, or stay in the palace for that." Azula assured, placing her hand on Zuko's unburnt shoulder.

Zuko fired up in anger, "What? Is he disowning me? Is he making you Crown Princess?" hoping from an answer from his visibly freaked out sister.

Azula pulled herself back and grumbled, "Calm yourself idiot! Well I don't know if he's making me Crown Princess, and you're not getting disowned... It's worse than that..."

"What can be worse than being disowned?" Zuko questioned in frustration.

"Exile, brother", Azula sighed, standing up and looking out the window.

"You expect me to take this lightly! I will be forbidden to enter my own country... Forever?" Zuko shouted, before ending with curiosity, uncertain whether his father would be so simple just to banish him permanently.

"Yes brother, there is a way to return, not scatter your mind just yet", Azula assured.

Zuko gulped down and looked Azula dead in the eye before cautiously asking, "What is it?"

"You must find the Avatar and capture him, before bringing him to the capital. You will be given a ship and I if remember correctly, Uncle is allowed to accompany you on your search", Azula explained, with each word bringing Zuko's hopes further down, "If you succeed to do this, your honour and title will be dutifully restored".

"Nothing can be worse than this! I might never even find the Avatar!" Zuko shouted at his sister, pulling himself in a fury, causing his wounds to ache further.

Azula pushed him back down onto his bed and sighed, "You don't understand Zuko, I should have given you the mark of the Agni Kai but chose not to, same as I chose to fight you instead of father!"

Zuko, now confused, pulled himself back up slightly and looked out to see his uncle watching, "Why? All we do is fight, isn't this what you wanted?"

"I may be stronger than you, but it doesn't mean I don't want to protect you Zuko. Just because I'm your little sister doesn't mean I don't know more than you", Azula said, looking Zuko dead in the eye before walking out the room, leaving with the final rebut, "Talk to me when you've calmed down!".

His uncle walked into the room and held Zuko in embrace, "I'm sorry Zuko, I should have done more to protect you..." almost crying in so.

Zuko pulled Iroh off, holding him still and looking him in the eyes, "Was she telling the truth Uncle? Is that what I need to do to return to the Fire Nation?"

Iroh looked down and wiped his cheeks, "Sadly she spoke the truth... That is your fate. But you must make the best of it, for if you don't, you may lose yourself". Zuko grabbed Iroh again and completed the embrace, hoping that he was dreaming and this was some nightmare. Nonetheless he knew something was different. Azula doesn't always lie.

The blood red halls of the Fire Nation were quieter than they had been a long time. Two guardsmen sat at their post, hoping to find a break in the constant standing around. The higher ranked guard and elder, Takumi stood looking out, attempting to hold place while his younger and less attuned comrade Osamu shuffled through his personal bag.

Osamu's eyes lit up and he pulled a small flask out of the bag, "Aha! I found it Takumi!"

Knowing all too well what he was intending, Takumi shushed Osamu, "Quiet Osamu! If the other guards catch you we'll get in a lot of shit with the Commander!"

Osamu chuckled handing Takumi the flask, "You mean us, right?" grinning as Takumi sniffed the contents of the flask.

"Ah... Zhoushu's personal brew! The finest sake out of the Fire Nation Capital? How'd you sneak it in?" Takumi intrigued, sipping some of the fine drink before giving it back to Osamu.

"I had to bribe the gates-men with my other flask, they took it no questioned asked!" Osamu chuckled.

"How'd you buy it boy, it's not like we earn the highest pay in the Fire Nation?" Takumi chuckled, wondering where Osamu found the money to pay for the commonly known best brew of sake in the Capital.

"Well I did some work for Zhoushu himself. Got him in touch with some friends who would be willing to do some dirty work for him out in the colonies." Osamu slyly grinned.

"Ugh... You don't mean Mongke and his damn band of Rough Rhinos do you?" Takumi snided, becoming frustrated with his friends antics.

"Yeah who else? Mongke's more than willing to help me out. Not a bad man, he treats his friends well." Osamu jibed, taking another sip from his flask.

"And he treats his enemies worse than the Firelord himself..." Takumi finished, pulling Osamu back up to stature.

"Are you sure about that?" a voice asked out. The two recognised the voice immediately and saw her appear. Princess Azula walked out from the shadows, startling the two guards who immediately stomped their feet and stuck back to position.

The Princess chuckled, "Ah... Don't be so serious. I was looking for you two." bringing the two to become further fearful.

Osamu buckled, falling to his knees, "Please my princess! What you've heard about me isn't true. Please don't kill me!"

Azula dismissed the guards' spastic response, "I'm not here about your other jobs Corporal Osamu. I rather have a job for the two of you." Takumi immediately knelt before the princess and Osamu reshuffled his legs to make the same position.

Takumi lent forward, "What is your command, my princess?"

Azula chuckled, "Oh I'm flattered Sargent Takumi, but this operation is off the books. Directly from me."

Osamu intrigued, "Then what do you ask of us?"

Azula sighed, "As you both know, my brother Zuko has officially been banished from the Fire Nation proper. You two both accompanied him at his sword training sessions in Shu Jing, am I not mistaken?" Takumi and Osamu both nodded and the Princess continued, "I seek to have one of you join my brothers' crew and act as communication between my uncle and I. One would stay here in the palace with me and the other with Zuko's ship and crew, and you would send messages between each other."

Takumi stood up, "I will volunteer my Princess. It is already my obligation to protect the royal family, and it would be an insult for the Prince to not have any elite guards by his side."

Osamu stood beside his friend and held his shoulder, "You have two young children Takumi. It might be that you won't return to the capital for years, and you could miss their childhood. I will do it, I don't have a wife or children yet, and there is no reason for me to remain here in the capital."

The Princess cunningly smiled, "Well it is decided then! I thank you both in advance for your services. It would be in your best interest Corporal to get packed. The ship leaves at sunset." Princess Azula walked away, quickly disappearing around the corner, as quick as she had appeared.

Osamu chuckled, "Y'know, she startled us pretty easily. I don't think we're actually as prepared for real threats as we think!" Takumi laughed at his joke, and grabbed the flask back out his bag.

"One final drink?" Takumi asked with a wide grin. The guards both laughed at each other, and quickly took a final sip each out of Zhoushu's sake.

Takumi, looked out the window nearby, seeing the rays of the sun and the stark shadow already cast into the room, "Osamu, it's you best you hurry, the sun is getting low".

In a small courtyard of the Fire Nation Palace, shouts of pain could be heard from all around. None of the servants or guards attended to it, knowing all too well it was the newly banished prince. Prince Zuko was begrudgingly pulling his armour over his burnt chest, feeling the sting get harsher as he did so. His Uncle stood behind him, tying his armour to his shoulders and sides.

"Uncle, I don't know how this is going to work. I've got so many places to look and things to do.", Zuko questioned his uncle, looking at him with a face of genuine concern and fear.

"Do not fear my nephew, you must rest before we even try to reach the Air Temples. It will be weeks by sea to even reach the Western Air Temple, the closest of the four." Iroh reassured him, holding his hand over his shoulder plates as he tied them on.

Looking out, checking for servants and guards, Zuko sighed, "They must think I'm a weakling now. I always thought I was, but now everyone sees it."

"Not to fear my nephew, when you return, you will be a hero of the Fire Nation, I am sure of It.", Iroh chuckled, finishing up the tightening on Zuko's armour. "We best head off, I already had my servants pack our bags, putting that your father didn't allow the general servants to have anything to do with you."

Zuko remained mostly emotionless, not wanting to feel happy in his current situation. He pulled his dao from their hanging position on the wall and strung its holster around his waist, assuring that he was at least armed to prevent some fools from attacking them on their walk down.

"Let's go, I feel father would be more infuriated if I kept here any longer..." Zuko sighed, walking out his rooms' doorway, afraid he would never pass through it again. He walked down the hallway with Iroh at toe. As they approached the front door, the guards quickly opened up in acknowledgement of the two royals leaving the palace. Behind him Zuko could hear his sisters' familiar footsteps.

"Azula, you don't have to say mocking farewells. I've suffered enough already", Zuko grumbled, refusing to look back at his sister.

"This is not a mockery Zuko, rather a message." he could hear Azula calmly state. Turning back he saw his sister, who looked solemn and rather serious, not feeling happy or sad. Just standing there, awaiting to deliver Zuko her message.

"Well what is it then?" Zuko hammered, stomping his foot on the ground in frustration once more, seemingly frightening the nearby servants.

"You are stronger than you know brother. Your potential that is, could be as great as mine. I was blessed with prodigy, but you will have to achieve the powers that I have. I believe in you Zuko, despite what you might think..." Azula stood, calm and unmoving, almost showing emotion, but holding it back.

"Why are you telling me this? Why are you so different now? Something must of happened to you?" Zuko asked, getting more frustrated and confused as he went along.

Azula chuckled, "Ah... Mother was not as bad as I thought, you see. I made a promise- one which I intend to keep, brother." Zuko's anger faded, realising that he had been throwing his anger and pain at his sister when she was just trying to help. Almost tearing up and smiling, he walked over to his sister and crossed his arms over her, holding her tight.

"Uh Zuko? Can you not, I don't want to get all teary in front of the guards..." Azula confided, and Zuko pulled back, wiping the budding tears from his eyes.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'll miss you Azula..." Zuko chuckled.

"Ah don't worry Zuzu, I think I'll miss you and your little antics too..." Azula genuinely smiled at Zuko, bringing a smile to her Uncle's face.

"Well Prince Zuko, we should leave now, our crew may get frustrated if we take too long!" Iroh chuckled, attempting to get Zuko to step out of the palace.

"Yeah, yeah Uncle, let's go..." Zuko laughed, returning to a more solemn state. Turning back to Azula, he gave her a small salute, "Good luck with your life Azula. I might be a grown man by the time I get back!" before walking out of the door.

Amused, Azula shouted back at her brother, "Yeah right Zuzu! You'll probably still be a little twerp!" He heard and responded with a funny looking face, attempting to mock Azula's 'game face'. The two waved each other and turned back, knowing they would not see each other, at least in person, for some time after. But it was a good end to a bad childhood, one way or another. They at least agreed on that.

Prince Zuko clasped the steel hull of the ship while the waves battered on, causing him to sway with the ship. Looking across the water he saw the Caldera and Capital drifting away, as if falling from existence. He looked over to his Uncle, who was meditating on the deck of the ship.

"Uncle, I say we best start planning our course for once we leave Fire Nation waters.", Zuko asked, attempting to pull the best face he could for Iroh. "The Avatar is our top priority, despite you viewing this... As some kind of holiday!" Zuko jibed at his Uncle, forcing Iroh to get out of his position and respond.

"Well, I say Prince Zuko, this might be a fine vacation for myself. But you speak true, the Avatar is our priority. I say we set course north, head for the Western Air Temple.", Iroh confided, smiling as he held his nephew's shoulder.

"Well let's be done with it, I'd rather find the Avatar sooner than later." Zuko grumbled.

Iroh called out to the commanding officer, who immediately walked over to the two of them, "Zuko, this is Lieutenant Jee. I believe you were introduced when we boarded?" Iroh asked.

Zuko chuckled, "Take this as proper introduction lieutenant. I hope to make this as quick a banishment as possible. I can't stand the thought of remaining on this ship for the rest of my life."

"Good to hear Prince Zuko, the Western Air Temple is our first intended location, is it not?" Jee inquired. The two royals nodded, and he smiled, "Well good, I'll ensure the pilot knows to head on course towards the Western Air Temple. There is few stops we could take along the way, but in itself it is not a long trip."

"Thank you Lieutenant, you are dismissed", Zuko said, but not before shaking Jee's hand, giving him a strong grip, as to acknowledge his authority. Zuko looked back out towards the caldera, which continued to fade from view.

"I guess this is it Uncle. We have to find and capture the Avatar, where ever he's hiding..."

Little did Prince Zuko know, there was more to finding the Avatar than he thought. Iroh knew that the blood connection to the previous Avatar had given him and his sister a strong unknown connection, just waiting to be awakened. Their journey would be long, but he would be safe from the Firelord, and his sister would continue her training, becoming even more skilled in the art of firebending. They were stronger than before, and as Azula herself knew, stronger than they could have been. Fate had been changed, but no one knew if it was enough, and only time would tell if the bloodline of Roku would finish what he started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the Agni Kai and the beginning of Zuko's banishment. This forms the end of what I name Act I, which has been contained within all prior chapters. This sets up important factors that will come into play later in the story.


	13. The Face of Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of a new age, that being one of hope...

The sun slowly peeled above the horizon, illuminating a desolate and solemn village, peering out on the waters edge of an icy plain. A teen boy sat along the village wall, holding himself up to gaze at the sunrise. This boy was Sokka, son of Chief Hakoda, the ruler of the small Water Tribe village he sat outside of. He hadn't seen his father in 3 years, and had taken it upon himself to wake up every morning and see if any ships bearing his tribes flag sailed in, hoping his father would appear on one of them. But that hadn't been the case for the past 3 years, and he didn't expect it to be any different that day. Sokka covered his eyes from the glare of the rising sun, and decided he best get up. He was the only man of the village, and he had to do all he could to be there for his tribe. A gentle hand held his shoulder, and he shook himself in surpirse, only to realise it was his sister Katara.

"Up early again Sokka? Is everything okay?" Katara inquired, hoping to get something from her brother.

Sokka being the epitome of masculinity he was, simply gruffed, "I'm fine... Just doing my job, watching out for the tribe".

Katara sighed, "Just don't tire yourself to much... Gran-Gran wants us to go out fishing today!" before walking back into the village, out of Sokka's sight. The water tribesman sighed and picked up his bone spear before pacing himself around the wall, waking himself up from his half-asleep state he had been while waiting for the sunrise. When he thought about he, Sokka realised that he wasn't just waiting for his father, he really had one of those feelings. A gut instinct, like something was going to happen. He didn't know, but his father always told him to trust in his instincts so he kept to that. He peered out to the icy waters, eyeing out the shapes of the icebergs in the distance, seeing their silouhette cast behind the rising sun, hoping to see anything of interest. He hoped to find something intriguing out there in the frigid waters, but nothing much more than seals, penguins and fish came his way. Sokka continued to carry himself along the waters edge, looking at his solemn reflection.

Noticing his slump back and rather depressed look, he pulled himself upright and chuckled, "Ah well! That's better...". Sokka continued walking along and found himself at his "watchtower" which was really not much more than a tall pile of snow along the wall. Climbing up over the ice wall he had a better view of the village, and could see the other children and their mothers had begun to awaken. He noticed his Gran-Gran walking up towards him, giving out a short wave, before curling her arms back to her gut, still not adjusted to the early morning air.

"Hey Gran-Gran, how was your sleep?" Sokka asked, sliding down the ice wall.

Kanna weezed and curled a smile at her grandson, "I've had better days Sokka... Much better days".

"So what are the villagers going to be doing today, Gran-Gran?" Sokka asked, curious to know what she and the other villagers would be doing while he and Katara fished.

"Not much, sowing up pelts and caring for the young ones. You know how they get, even I can't get them to sit down and listen." she sighed, looking back across the village.

"I wish Dad was here Gran-Gran... He and the men could really be of some help right now. The children are restless and untrained, unable to help you and the other women against any kind fo raid that comes our way."

"They wouldn't be much help Sokka, they've only seen five summers at most. Childish and unaware of the dangers of the world." Kanna responded, holding Sokka by the shoulder. "I miss my son too, he's never been away for this long. I fear for his safety out fighting the Fire Nation and crossing the world". Sokka smiled at his grandmother and embraced her, although he was shortly interrupted by his sister appearing to their side, dropping the fishing gear.

"Ohhh... Let me get in on this hug!" Katara grinned, pouncing at her brother and grandmother, causing Sokka to reel back a bit, almost tripping over his own feet.

"Urgh Katara! Not so rough..." Sokka grumbled.

"So... Are we heading out now Sokka? I got the gear ready." Katara piped up, "I've been wanting to try and practice my waterbending!".

Picking up his spear and net, Sokka sighed, "Urgh... Katara enough with the magic water already, todays we're going to try and be productive!".

Kanna chuckled and shuffled her grandchildren along, "Go on now, the fish aren't going to catch themselves.".

Katara grinned at Sokka deviously and shouted, "Last one to the canoe's a rotten sea cucumber!" and starting sprinting out of the village, and Sokka wasn't far behind. Kanna laughed as she heard her grandson shout about Katara using waterbending in the distance, and decided not to intervene. Perhaps it was going to be a better day than usual, if her grandchildren caught the fish they sought that was.

A set of dim candles lay set out in line, masking the silouhette figure sitting behind them. Walls of metal encased the room, and the red and black drape of the Fire Nation flag laid above the candles, swaying as the candles dimmed and heightened with the silouhette's every breath.

The calm and relax of the room was suddenly broken with a creaking open of the metal bolted door and a voice piped into the room, "Sorry to interrupt you nephew, but you told me you were going to practice your sets as soon as the sun rose above the the horizon".

A calm and solemn voice, spoke out, "Yes Uncle... We should head straight to doing my sets. As so to prepare...".

"Prince Zuko, we don't even know the Avatar is here in the Southern Water Tribe, unless they have already reincarnated, but the Fire Sages would have known that." Iroh confided in his nephew, attempting to sway him away from the constant reminder of his mission.

"No Uncle... I am not being delusional. There is something about this place, this time. It's something I can't explain." Zuko bided, pulling his robes back over over his chest and tying it up.

"I will send word to the Captain for a continued push through the icy waters then?" Iroh questioned his Zuko, now more as captain of the ship than his beloved nephew.

"Yes. That would be best, I believe we may be able to contact some of the Water Tribesmen for information on the Avatar if we come about any nearby villages." Zuko commanded, returning to his more tough and brooding posture he took about as the captain. His uncle left the room and Zuko immediately grabbed his hairbands and pulled them back over his ponytail, looking at his half broken mirror as he did so.

Looking at his face and hair he saw how much he had grown since he left the palace nearly two years prior. His features more defined, his face no longer that of an unburdened child. His hair however was the biggest change. He had grown his hair back out and it was even now still shorter than it had been before it had been cut after his defeat. Zuko didn't want to dwell on his duel and exile, and rather stayed on his on mission. Haircuts weren't part of his agenda. Capturing the Avatar was the goal of his journey, and the only way he could return home as the Crown Prince... At least he hoped so.

Prince Zuko opened the door and looked out the hallway, seeing it empty. Morning had just arrived, so it would be fair to assume that the ship would be essentially devoid of on-duty guards. He slowly made his way through the galley, hearing as the men groaned out of bed, or attempted to wash themselves with the little water rations that they had given out. The prince heaved open the heavy metal door and gazed outside. It was quite a calming sight, tranquil waters and the sun dipping over the horizon, with the icefields of the South Pole visible in the distant. As expected his uncle was sitting down at his small table, awaiting his nephew to join him for tea.

"Prince Zuko, I have brewed some tea! Would you care for some?" Iroh softly smiled, his voice as calming as the tea he offered.

"Uh yeah, sure Uncle..." Zuko awkwardly responded, still attempting to feel brooding and tough in front of the former general.

"So... What's this odd feeling you've been having? About the Avatar you say?" Uncle intrigued, wanting to start a conversation with the usually gruff prince.

"Yes... It's very weird. I can't figure out exactly what it is: spirits, the Avatar or something completely different entirely... I haven't felt this way since-" Zuko cut off.

"Since when Prince Zuko?" Iroh furthered.

"Uhhh nothing... I think I just confused myself further. Let's just drink tea..." grabbing his cup and sipping it down, making sure his uncle couldn't probe him any further. But he knew without a doubt there was something up, because he really did know the last time he felt this way. The morning of the war meeting and Agni Kai, he had the exact same feeling, like someone, or something was calling out to him. Perhaps he might be going insane from the time at sea?

Suddenly a bright flash caught both of the royals eyes, and Zuko turned to what he glimpsed. A massive beam of light echoing into the sky. The booming sound that followed shook the ship itself. Zuko could only think of one thing, and it almost brought a smirk to his face: The Avatar.

Azula lay in her bed, suddenly awoken from a calm and peaceful sleep. Pulling herself out of bed, she immediately felt like something was wrong. She looked at her hands and feet, unsure how to coordinate herself, off balance for once in her life. She stumbled towards the ensuite door and flung it open, a sick feeling growing in her gut. Looking into the bathroom she stared at her own face, her eyes glowing a pale blue and she fell back in fear.

Suddenly as if out of nowhere the old man returned to greet above her, offering his hand of assistance. Azula, in a fear of desperation slapped his hand away and somersaulted back, landing on her feet.

"What's happening to me?!" Azula shouted at the old man, who remained still and solemn.

The old man looked at her with all the seriousness a spiritual apparation could muster, "I have come before you to tell and warn you of the Avatar's return. Your brother is going to find him...".

"-And my father will have him, leaving no one in his way to annihilating the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes." Azula finished the man's sentence, well aware of the situation. "Why are my eyes glowing... I'm not the Avatar!" Azula asked.

The man chuckled and explained, "You are not. But you must help him when the time comes".

"Why have you appeared in the real world this time? I thought spirits could only be in the spirit world?!".

"Our connection has grown strong, and will always be so. But the more I help you, the more I bleed into you." the man explained.

"Who are you?! This doesn't make any sense!" Azula screamed, unable to grasp how any of this was happening.

"Do as you Uncle said, you will find the truth there..." the man said, as he faded into the breeze.

Azula jumped at where the man was angered that he had already disappeared, "No don't leave! Tell me!".

Suddenly her guards knocked on the door, as would be expected in they noticed her screams and shouts, "Are you okay Princess, we heard shouts?".

Azula covered her face, thinking her eyes might still be glowing, "Yes, I'm perfectly fine, just a nightmare. Can I ask for Sargeant Takumi? I require his assistance at this time."

The leading guard responded, "Uh yes, Takumi was just on break, we'll fetch him immediately." Hearing their footsteps leave the premises, Azula set her candles alight and swept everything off her desk, pulling out a pen and a sheet of paper.

She begun to scribble down as fast as she could, "Good day Uncle, I assume by the time you get this letter, my brother has either been competent enough to capture the Avatar or you have been attempting to follow him. I have been visited by the man again, and he has told me that I must assist the Avatar. I will not do such a thing until I understand this man and what this all means, I so I will go by your advice to go to the Dragonbone Catacombs. I am loyal to our nation and our family, so I will-" suddenly interrupted by Takumi being shuffled into her room by the guards.

"Uh this is pretty early Princess. Is everything okay?" Takumi asked, unsure why he was being called before sunrise.

Azula immediately covered her face and trembled, "Okay I'm unsure, so don't be shocked if they are, but are my eyes glowing?" uncovering her face and opening her eyes.

"Uh no Princess... Are you sure you're okay?", Takumi asked genuinely fearing that princess had some kind of mental breakdown.

"No I'm perfectly fine!" Azula dismissed his claims, "I have to finish this letter and then you will send it." handing him a small bag of coins, "This should pay for the best messenger hawk in the Fire Nation. This is of the utmost priority, do you understand?".

"Yes your highness, I will do your bidding." Takumi bowed graciously and genuinely. She trusted Takumi and his respect. She had confided him much of the information between her and her Uncle since her brother's exile three years ago.

"Now let me just finish this and you can be on your way" Azula dismissed the guard and pulled her pen back into the inkwell before continuing, "- help Zuko no matter what, whichever path that may be. Your loyal niece, Azula". The Princess got up and opened her door, handing Takumi the message. He saluted her and paced off, presumably to take another nap, seeing his break wasn't over and the shops wouldn't open for a few hours still.

Azula closed her door and crawled back into her bed, unable to shake the idea that she had just had glowing eyes and talked to the old man again. She was sure she wasn't going insane, her Uncle had assured her of that. Destiny is a funny thing, always wanting to find it, but getting scared shitless when it shows you it's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Water Tribe siblings are introduced and more spirit vision hijinks for Azula. Zuko's as brooding as ever, and things are only just heating up. Heh, see what I did there.


	14. Brothers, Sisters and Airbenders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being prepared for anything is vital to success.

A bright shock echoed throughout his line of sight, bringing a deep knot of fear into Sokka's gut, now sitting essentially helpless by his sister's side at a glowing iceberg. The snow and ice settled around the iceberg as Sokka clutched Katara, fearing what might come next. Confused by the large beam of light emanating from the iceberg he releases his sister and gazes into it. The top of the iceberg had been shattered and now formed a crater, into which he could not see. Hoping to get a better look he pulls himself up and his sister follows, still holding onto his side. Sokka lifts up his spear, unknowing of who or what could appear from the iceberg. He lowers it however, once the figure comes into full view, climbing on to the craters edge, eyes glowing a blinding white.

"Stop!" Sokka shouts at the figure, hoping to get an answer before he was forced to act, out of fear more than necessity. The figure stood on the craters edge, looking down at the two siblings, who stare back in wonder and fear. The light from the iceberg and the figures eyes dissipate suddenly, revealing to be merely a young boy. The boy moans in exhaustion and faints, falling from the edge, compelling Katara to attempt to catch him. She swiftly grasps the boy before he hits the ground, and attempts to hold him up while her brother examines him, using the butt end of his spear to investigate him.

Frustrated with Sokka, Katara waves his spear away and annoyingly grumbles, "Stop it!" She gently places the boy against the craters wall. She looks down at his face and he opens his eyes, a distinct warm grey distinct from his blue arrow tattoos.

Katara smiled in relief as the boy weakly begun to speak, "I need to ask you something..."

Intrigued, the waterbender inched a bit closer and questioned, "What?" with her hair loopies distinctively chattering in the wind.

The boy still weak in voice and crumpled on the ground asked again, "Please... come closer."

Katara, curious as ever, edged up towards the boy's tired looking face and decidedly asked him again, "What is it?"

He picked up a smile and spoke far clearly than he did before, "Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

Feeling awkward with the sudden change of mood, she edged back a bit, "Uh, sure... I guess." The boy suddenly and swiftly rose to his feet with one motion, surprising the two Water Tribe siblings. Katara was in awe with the movement the boy was able to perform, just reaching out of an iceberg moments before, while her brother backed away in shock, uncomprehending and unforgiving, aiming his spear back at the boy. Katara glanced back at her brother in disbelief and frustration. He always seemed to be the one was more narrow-minded and aggressive of the two, according to Katara at least.

Confused the boy asked the two, "What's going on here?" clearly off edged by Sokka's motion, yet not fearing his aggressive stance.

Sokka boils over, aggressively pointing his spear at the boy, "You tell us!" before pointing the crater, acknowledging that he had just moments ago, appeared from an iceberg surrounded by nearly mythical lights. "How did you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?" Sokka continued to question, poking the boy in side with his spear.

The boy tiredly pushed the spear away dismissing Sokka's frustrations with one foul swoop, "I'm... not sure." Soon after a low gruff noise fills the air, coming from inside the crater on the iceberg. The boy quickly lights up and scrambles over the ridge of ice and onto what the siblings would assume to be his companion

"Appa! Are you alright?" the boy shouts with glee, while the two siblings stand behind the ridge, remaining confused as to what was going on.

Sokka leans over to his sister and grumbles "Another one? He has a friend... This is bound to get interesting..."

Katara throws him a glance of frustration, "We don't even know who this 'Appa' is. It's not kind to judge without meeting someone Sokka!"

Sokka points around with a face of ironic amazement "Look at all we just saw! I'm pretty sure this lötops as the weirdest day ever... And we don't even know where they come from." Katara in response grabs her brother by the collar, as to walk along the ridge side, turning in to meet the boy and his friend, when they both realised they had misinterpreted who an what Appa was. It wasn't another boy or even a little pet companion. It was a giant brooding animal with six legs, horns and an arrow marking similar to that on the boys head. At the moment they turned their heads, it was licking the boy with its giant tongue, making Sokka's jaw drop in bewilderment and disgust.

"What is that thing?" Sokka questioned in a heightened tone, unsure how to feel about the massive furry beast standing before him.

"This is Appa, my flying bison." the boy grins, showing off his friend.

Sokka sighed and responded in a noticably sarcastic tone "Right, and this Katara, my flying sister." Katara looked at Sokka, confused and agitated at the same time. The boy was slightly confused, off put by Sokka's sarcasm, but was quickly taken by noticing Appa inhaling deeply. Knowing what would happen, he ducked just as Appa sneezed, the blast of green flying directly onto Sokka, knocking him over. Sokka pulls himself up, realising that he is covered in a thick green slime and squeals in disgust, attempting to clean it off his body, to not much success. He falls to the ground and unsuccessfully tries to rub it off into the ice.

The boy smiles and cheerfully tries to support Sokka "Don't worry, it'll wash out." Sokka feels the slime peeling from his hand and hand and feels immediately sickened, with Katara behind him almost gagging in disgust. "So do you guys live around here?" the boy asks curiously, only to be cut off immediately by Sokka pointing his spear accusingly.

"Don't answer that! Did you see that crazy bolt of light?! He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!" Sokka accused, directing his claims at Katara.

Amused by Sokka's claims, she pushes his spear away and addresses him sarcastically, "Oh yeah, I'm sure he's a spy for the Fire Navy. You can tell by that evil look in his eye." The boy gives them both a grin and Katara smiles back at him, "The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. You never told us your name."

"I'm A ... a-a-a-Achoo!", the boy sneezes, creating an air blast, shooting him up into the air above them, before landing back on the ground moments later unharmed. "I'm Aang".

"You just sneezed… And flew ten feet in the air!" Sokka tries to explain, still in total disbelief.

Aang looks questioningly upwards toward the sky, "Really? It felt higher than that."

Katara clicked and gasps for air in comprehension, "You're an airbender!"

Aang grinned back, "Sure am!"

Sokka places his hand on his forehead and sighs, 'Giant light beams, flying bison, airbenders… I think I got midnight sun madness. I'm going home where stuff makes sense". Walking away from the crater he realises that they are stranding the middle of the ocean, with no way of getting back home.

Aang understands their predicament and offers, "Well if you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift", airbending himself onto Appa's saddle.

Katara grins in joy, "We'd love a ride! Thanks!" running to Appa's side.

Sokka, after his incident with the snot blast, decided to put his foot down, "Oh no! I'm not getting on that fluffy snot monster!"

Katara, climbing up Appa's side with the help of Aang, became increasingly frustrated with her brother, "Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know, before you freeze to death?" Sokka opens his mouth in defiance and points at his sister, ready to retaliate, but can't think of a response. Sighing, he bows his head in consent and defeat, bringing a smirk to his sister's face. Sokka then begrudgingly climbs onto Appa's saddle and sits beside his sister, crossing his arms, sulking at his defeat, while Katara sits full of excitement, anticipating what is to happen next.

Aang grins at them both, excited for their first flight on his flying bison, "Okay first time flyers, hold on tight", before turning to forward and looking out, "Appa, yip-yip!" Aang wipes the reins and Appa makes a low growl in response. The flying bison moves his tail up and down and pounces up in air, before falling back down and flopping into the water. He begins trudging through the water slowly, and Katara decides to crawl up to the front of the saddle, confused as to why Appa hadn't started flying.

Aang whips the reins again, slightly embarrassed that he hadn't delivered a 'flying' sky bison, "Come on Appa, yip-yip!"

Sokka sighs and replies with a hefty tone of sarcasm, "Wow that was truly amazing ..." Katara immediately shoots Sokka an angry glance, which makes him stand down any future sarcastic remarks.

Aang reassured the siblings, "Appa's just a little tired. A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see." Katara smiled at Aang in response, and he returns the gesture. After a few moments, Katara wants to turn back, but she realises Aang's smile hasn't disappeared yet, still gaping from cheek to cheek.

Katara questioned him, "Why are you smiling at me like that?" with some discomfort in her face and voice.

Aang dismisses her claim, "Oh I was smilng?" surprising Katara and making her return another smile. Sokka throws his head back and sticks his tongue out in disgust while groaning loudly. Katara glares at him while Appa continues to make his way through the icy sea, flapping his tail in the water. Their day had only just begun.

From each battered wave, a small creak could be heard throughout the walls of the steel vessel. The echo battered into Osamu's mind, each creak as if it was closing him towards insanity. He gazed to down the hallway, noticing guards and sailors quickly stepping by, avoiding the Captain's room, which he was standing by. It was a necessary part of his job to guard a member of the royal family, but Osamu damned the spirits that he had taken up the honour on a freezing steel ship. Despite being a firebender, he felt the chills just standing in the hallway, as if it radiated frost. The door swung open and Osamu flicked his helmet back onto his head, standing tall for Prince Zuko, not wanting to agitate him in his already burgeoning frustration. The Prince's ponytail flicked out from the door, revealing himself to be in his armour, as if he were about to fight. Osamu swiftly saluted his captain, however Zuko noticed something was a bit off, so he examined Osamu, observing his shivering and nearly fake readiness.

"Corporal...", the Prince sighed Osamu's official rank, "You don't have to freeze yourself out in the hallway... I need some sparring partners for my next set, I require your attendance".

Osamu smirked under his helmet and saluted the Prince, "Of course sir, I'll go to the deck immediately", before turning around and pacing himself down the hallway, glad to have been down with his current 'standing session'. Osamu quickly opened the outer door and felt the freezing gale flow into the hall, giving a chill down his spine. He gazed out and saw General Iroh sitting by his lonesome with a cup of tea, as per usual.

"Ah Corporal, how are you this morning?" Iroh inquired, giving Osamu an unsually large grin.

"Feeling as if I've been frozen..." Osamu sighed, in a rather informal tone, unsual for him to speak to a person of such high nobility.

"Don't fear, I believe my nephew's going to give us quite a show that will surely warm you up", Iroh chuckled, taking another sip from his tea. "Here he comes now!", Iroh piped up, acknowledging Zuko's brooding presence.

"Let's get started… We don't have all day", Zuko ordered Osamu and another guard, now seemingly back to his arrogant and determined normal self. Osamu shivered and attempted to shake out the cold before stumbling himself down the deck, standing next to the other guard, who he assumed was Zuko's other sparring partner.

Iroh stood up and signaled the men with a nod, "Begin the set, Prince Zuko!" The Prince twitched his eye and pulled himself to an offensive stance, which Osamu and the guard countered with defensive stances. The prince begun by throwing a number of short blasts at the two guards.

Osamu easily waded the fire away and chuckled under his breath, "You can do better than that, can't you?" The Prince threw another few blasts and a kick, which Osamu was able to counter with a swift wave of fire. Zuko was already arrogant about his firebending abilities, so to have his movements so swiftly taken by his guards was an immediate insult. He prepared his next few blasts in a more rhythmic motion, blasting from left to right, catching Osamu off guard, and sent a final swing around at the other guard, which he himself broke with a swift swing of his arms.

Iroh, from the sidelines sternly commanded Zuko, "Again". Zuko begins again by spreading out his blasts of flames towards the two guards, who simply block it again with ease. He shifts his weight downward, blocking a blast from the other guard, before Osamu fires a short blast at his feet. The prince propels himself out of the blasts way and twists around in mid-air, directing another fire blast at the guard and another at Osamu's feet. Both of them however had a similar idea in mind to Zuko and simply dodged the blasts. Zuko lands to face his opponents, nearly smirking if it weren't for his recent rally of defeats. His fist is stretched out, in form and prepared to face another attack.

Iroh as he stands, "No!" he sighs, causing Zuko to lower his arms and look at his Uncle. "Power in firebending comes from the breath," Iroh explains while he moves in motion to emphasise the breathing motion, "-not the muscles", before stretching out as if to make a fire blast. "The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes: fire!", Iroh finishes with a fire blast directed at his nephew, that only evaporates just before it would have scorched him. He sighs with contempt, "Get it right his time".

Feeling his blood boil, Zuko walks up to his Uncle and almost shouts him down, "Enough! I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set! I'm more than ready!".

Iroh sighs, "No, you are impatient". He sits down again on his chair again, "You have yet to master your basics." Then he yells at him once more, "Drill it again!" Zuko clenches his teeth in anger and turns around before breathing a large blast of fire from his along with two other blasts towards his two sparring partners, who both were unable to block it and flung down.

Zuko smirks at his Uncle, "I think you may have forgotten my past training Uncle…", bringing Iroh down off of 'his high horse'. Zukos' tone however shifts to a far more serious one after getting over his Uncle's short mistake, "The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last Airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements! I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him." Zuko then starts to yell at his Uncle, "You will teach me the advanced set!"

Iroh concedes to his nephew, albeit reluctantly, "Very well" before turning to an expression of delight, picking something up from the ground, "but first I must finish my roast duck!" He then quickly munches down on the roast duck, much to the dismay of his nephew.

Zuko notices a groan, turning to see Osamu still reeling from the Prince's attack, clenching his leg, "Urgh… I think I broke something!"

Zuko chuckled at his guard and walked over to him grabbing him by the arm, "How about you take a rest Osamu, at least in a warmer room this time?"

Osamu's face lit up from one of despair, "Yes s-sir! I'd like that very much!"

Zuko smirked and patted Osamu on the back, "Go on now, you'll need your rest for when he have to face the Avatar". The elite firebender felt his heart beat faster on hearing that title.

"Azula's not going to like her brother messing up my job isn't she?", Osamu thought to himself, looking out to the icy waters.

"Have you sent it yet?" the Fire Princess demanded of her guard, who looked rather uncomfortable, being intimidated by a 14-year-old.

Takumi reeled back from Azulas' grip, "Yes your highness, I sent in an hour ago by the best hawk I could find, the seller told me it should reach your brother's ship in two weeks."

"I hope…" she grumbled. The princess had been frustrated by her hallucination and was already starting to have her outside image be chipped away, that of being always perfect, precise and capable. She removed herself from her thoughts, and turned to Takumi, "Thank you Sergeant, you may return to your duties. Takumi bowed to his princess and turned to walk out the room.

However Takumi held himself back from leaving the Princess' room, turning back to her and questioning, "Is everything alright? You seem more on edge than usual… Is something going on?"

Azula sighed, "That's what I'm trying to find out… Now leave me be" Takumi dutifully bowed and left the room in rush, not wanting to get on Azulas' bad side. The Princess closed her door and pulled off her mattress. It revealed her stash of contraband, not illegal items in the sense, but rather things she used to do things that weren't exactly within her bounds as Princess. Azula pulled out her dark robes placed them on top of the displaced futon. She then turned back to pull out her Dragon Emperor mask. Finally she pulled out a set of old brandished dao, a pair that Zuko had left behind. She had appreciated his sword form enough to learn some, as it helped disguise her identity when outside of the palace.

Azula heard a knock on her door and immediately scrambled all of her contraband back under the matress, before quickly flicking a hair back up, 'perfect as ever'. She slid open the door and smirked when she realised who it was.

Ty-Lee leapt in to give her friend a deep hug, "Azula! I haven't see you in ages! I missed you heaps!"

Azula made a short smile back to her friend, attempting to make some kind of affection, "Uh yeah I missed you too…" Azula reeled back and then decided to spark a conversation, "So why have you come to visit, do you want to go out on another escapade?" she grinned.

"No actually, I came here to tell you I'm leaving…" Ty-Lee piped up.

"Wait what? Leaving to where?" Azula intrigued, shocked and slightly confused.

"Y'know how I'm totally an awesome acrobat?" Ty-Lee jibed, "well I've decided to move to the colonies to join a circus trope! Don't you think that's awesome?!"

Azula was shocked that her friend would actually be leaving her but covered it up with a hug, "Of course I am! It's your dream!"

"I know right!" Ty-Lee grinned. "There's one catch though…" Ty-Lee trembled, her usually upbeat demeanor soured.

"What is it?" Azula intrigued, now interested in what Ty-Lee must have done or must do to achieve this dream of hers.

"I have to sort of… Run away. From my family and everything…" Ty-Lee pouted.

Azula chuckled and patted her friend on the back, "At least you'll be free to do whatever you like! Right?"

Ty-Lee smiled seeing Azula's genuine support, "Yeah you're right!"

Azula laughed and leaned herself back, "Well yeah… If you haven't figured it yet, I'm always right!" Ty-Lee and her then in synchronisation, high-fived each other and started laughing.

"Well anyway, is there anything you want to do before you leave?" Azula asked, interested in her friends plans before her grand send off.

"If you could walk me down to the docks, I'd be forever grateful?" Ty-Lee grinned, holding out her hands for Azula.

"Of course I would Ty…" Azula cracked a smile, before turning around and tossing up her mattress to reveal her contraband.

"If you are escaping, perhaps we might some disguises?" the Princess offerred, bringing Ty-Lee to leap in joy.

"Ooo! Does this mean we're doing dress up?! Just like when we were little?!" Ty-Lee jumped around and demanded in a fit of glee.

"Uh yeah, I guess it does" Azula stammered, pulling out her plain outfit and mask. She pointed over to her closet, "You should find some clothes for yourself in there, don't take anything too expensive though." Ty-Lee then immediately turned around to rummage through Azula's closet, tossing up headpieces, shirts and pants to find 'the perfect outfit', while Azula slipped out of her 'regal' attire into her simple red outfit that she wore at the spring festival. She slipped her topknot out and tied her hair into a long braid, almost imitating Ty-Lee's hairstyle. Ty-Lee pulled out what she was looking for, a simple dark red set of pants and shirt, and showed it off to Azula.

"Uh yeah that's my old sparring outfit, I guess you can take it", Azula explained, and signalled her to put it on.

Ty-Lee thought aloud, "So is this what you were wearing in the Agni Kai?"

Azula reeled back and coughed in a slight of shock, "Um… Yes?"

Ty-Lee tossed it back into Azula's closet, "Those clothes… They've got a bad aura, it's like that day just emanates through them."

Azula patted her friend on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I have other clothes you can 'steal'. I try not to remember that day, it was a handful… To say the least." She reaches down into the pile and pulls out another outfit.

"See here's another sparring outfit, this one's perfectly fine!" handing the red garments to Ty-Lee, who immediately went to slip them on. The Princess turned around and walked over to her desk, picking up a miswritten note she should have sent to her Uncle.

"This will do", she mumbled under her breath, setting the piece of paper alight. The ashes fell into her hand, and she immediately wiped them over her eyes, covering them and concealing her identity further. She turned to Ty-Lee who had finished putting on the outfit, which seemed to be a little too small for her. The shirt and pants were shorter than they should have been, giving the impression she was wearing a crop top and cut-pants.

"Wow I think this makes me look even hotter? Don't you agree?" Ty-Lee grinned, hoping to seek Azulas' well-respected approval.

The Princess blushed and coughed, "Uh yeah I guess it does… But I'm still the hottest!"

"Not with those black eyes you're not!" Ty Lee teased, making fun of Azulas' attempt to conceal her eyes.

"You need some too. You're a noblewoman after all, some people could recognise you!" Azula chuckled wiping what remained of the ash onto Ty-Lee's eyes, making her squeal in exaggerated terror. Azula shushed her, "Not so loud! You want to actually get out of the palace don't you?"

Ty-Lee's face turned from one of horror to a smirk, "So… secret tunnel?"

"Exactly" Azula grinned, sliding her mask on, now looking far more intimidating. Azula sometimes doubted her utmost loyalty to her position and everything she was taught to do. She just loved breaking the rules more than she did following them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Aang is introduced and the buildup to Zuko's appearance edges closer. Azula's goals are set up, but a little time for friends can't hurt? Now essentially every major character sans Toph has been introduced, we can really get into the story!


	15. Searching for Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The water tribe siblings are still confused by Aang. Zuko searches for the source of the light and the Avatar. Azula seeks knowledge that is now forbidden.

The sun gleamed across the ice, the whites and blues of the sea and land giving off a sense of bliss and peace, despite the desolate villages' circumstances. The women gathered around, cooking their meals and mending their furs and pelts, while the children played and were taught by their only 'warrior', who just happened to be an easily agitated 15 year old. Katara walked about by her lonesome, with only Aang on her mind, to her a curious young airbender whose people were supposedly extinct.  
"Where are you?" Katara mumbled to herself, kicking a tuft of snow from under her feet in frustration. "He must of ran off" she thought, walking toward her Sokkas' 'training session', where the young boys had begun to walk off, obviously signaling they'd had enough of her brothers' shouts and spears.  
She paces up to her brother, still worried what could have happened to their new friend, "Have you seen Aang? Gran-Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago".  
Suddenly Aang appears from an outhouse igloo, pulling his pants up, "Wow! Everything freezes in there!" he laughs, pointing toward the bathroom, making the young boys stop and laugh with him.  
Sokka’s face turned red with frustration and looks at his sister, "Uh!" pointing at Aang with fervour, "Katara, get him out of here! This lesson is for warriors only!” Sokka begins to walk away but hears the distinct sound of children playing. Turning around he sees the children playing around, going down Appas' tail like a slide. A boy slides down and fly over Sokka's spear, before landing in a pile of snow head first, making Katara break down in laughter.  
Frustrated enough, Sokka rushes toward the boys, "Stop! Stop it right now!" he yells at the boys, who stop laughing before he turns his words to Aang, "What's wrong with you?! We don't have time for fun and games with the War going on!” Sokka grabs his spear and glances with annoyance at the young boys still laughing.  
Aang slides down from Appa's head, looking at Sokka with slight confusion, "What war? What are you talking about?”  
Sokka raises an eyebrow in disbelief, "You're kidding right?" it being unbelievable that anyone wouldn't know about the War, which had lasted an entire century long.  
Aang glances questioningly at Sokka, unknowing of any kind of war, but his face changes to one of enthusiasm when he sees a lone otter-penguin, "Penguin!" he then shouts with joy. Aang then dashes at the now frightened penguin, waddling away from the boy.  
As Aang runs out his sight, Sokka turns to Katara, “He’s kidding, right?” They both look at each other, unsure how they should feel about Aang’s reaction. Katara then turns back to check the village before pacing along Aang’s track. “Oh spirits! Don’t you go following after him! He’s only trouble Katara!”  
Katara smirks, “Well if he’s so much trouble, he ought to have someone looking after him”. Sokka attempts to make a response but just sighs. He droops his head down and walks away, leaving Katara to her penguin chasing affair with Aang.

* * *

The icy seas remained calm as Prince Zuko looked out aboard the bridge of his ship. His uncle stood to the side, sipping his tea, trying to stay as calm as the waters that surrounded them. The old general had nearly had enough of his nephew’s shenanigans, and blindly chasing after a flash of light, claiming it to be evidence of the Avatar’s location was little help to either of them.  
The helmsman stood forward and saluted the Prince, “Sir, we are approaching the source of the light, should we slow the vessel down for precaution?”  
Zuko hammered his fist down on the railing, “No! We will continue ahead at full speed. If we’re lucky, we might surprise the old fool”. The helmsman bowed quickly before scampering away, not wanting to agitate the already hyped and angered Captain. Iroh held Zuko’s shoulder firmly, as he liked to do before making a gracious speech to his frustrated nephew.  
“Prince Zuko, you must not become drawn into this so much, look at this situation from the outside. To act so rash-“, before Zuko cut him off with his hand.  
“Rash, Uncle? You are the one who has been training me for the past three years? Is your training not suffice to defeat a weak and feeble Avatar who never had the guts to show his face to the Fire Nation?”  
“Your training will not suffice, the Avatar is more powerful than you can imagine! They are born to protect the four nations and keep the peace. If you were to threaten them, there’s no telling what powers they could muster. You need to be more than a good firebender to beat them!”  
“It is no matter Uncle, we have enough men and all of us have the drive to get home. We can defeat him! I know it!” Zuko shouted out, trying to appease his uncle with his ideals of hope. “We will be arriving at the source of that beam of light soon enough, you best prepare yourself or go back to your quarters Uncle.”  
Iroh sighed, “If we are to truly face the Avatar, I will be by your side in battle Zuko, but not until then…” before walking back into the bridge to the warmth of the ship.  
Zuko gazed out and squinted towards the source of the light, “Where are you, Avatar?” The ship slowly edged up, the icebergs peeling from view to show a massive bowl-shaped iceberg, with a strong blue tinge.  
The helmsman stood forward and called out, “Captain! Should we land and investigate?” Zuko rubbed his eyes before pulling out his spyglass, edging his view out across the ice fields.  
“No helsman, he’s been gone for some time, you can see the tracks?” pointing to a distinct set of large tracks on the ice. Zuko growled, “The Avatar has probably gone back to the shore where it is safe to hide, we will follow him there. That’s an order helmsman!”  
The helmsman paced himself off again and into the men in the bridge, “C’mon you heard the captain, keep on moving!” Zuko breathed in deeply, and walked back inside towards his cabin. He thought some meditation would prepare him for the forthcoming battle. Or going with what his Uncle was saying, nothing might. Doom or victory, Zuko was prepared to fight for his honour… And return home.

* * *

The small pyres of fire lit up the grounds of the greatest temple in the Fire Nation, as the sun dipped ever so slightly below the horizon. A fire sage paced his way across the grounds, step by step towards the centre of the temple. He gazed around to ensure no bystanders were watching, before blasting a wave of fire around his feet. A loud mechanical sound echoed through the room, before the floor around the sage disappeared, revealing a staircase that went below the temple. He paced himself as fast as his crooked bones would take him, falling out view.  
Unknown to the nifty Fire Sage, a masked figure had been lurking behind a wall in that very room. Princess Azula had finally figured it out after waiting a good while for a sage to show up. She should have been able to figure it out herself, a simple firebending move into a mechanism; how else would they be able to hide it from the frequent visitors to the temple?  
She quickly paced herself across the room to stand on top of the mechanical entrance, and quickly caught a glance out the door. No one had shown up yet, but she couldn’t take any chances. She would have to be quick. Breathing in she played out the movements the sage made when he entered. She repeated it in her head a few times before opening her eyes and looking at her hands. She was a good firebender, and precision was always key, she told herself. Striking a number of blasts with a flick of the wrist, the fireballs entered the mechanisms and did their work, the distinctive clank echoing again through the room. The floor moved from under her, and revealed the long awaited staircase into the mysterious Dragonbone Catacombs.  
The Princess paced herself with ease and silence down the narrow stairwell, reaching a small set of passageways lit up by torches along the walls. She knew the most secret documents of her nation’s history remain down in the catacombs, being defended from Sozin’s cleansing of Fire Nation’s long and arduous history during his reign.  
She paced herself into the first passageway she could find, and scrimmaging some scrolls with her behind a clay vessel. With her lamp she read their titles to see if any could be found of note. She read of the “Histories of the Fire Lords” and “Tribes of the Sun Warriors” along with an interesting text about the spirits called “Kerumikage”, which she knew of as a folktale, but supposedly really did exist and did seriously affect the politics of the early Fire Nation.  
She left that small room disappointed and placed the scrolls she found back in their places, checking for any incoming sages. Unsurprisingly, one of them walked by when she had been reading, but failed to notice her as silent as the night, crouching behind the clay vessel.  
Azula sneaked around the corner, checking for the sages again, but was relieved to be seemingly alone in her little section of the catacombs. Walking down the passageway she glanced a more interesting ‘entrance’. A statue of Firelord Sozin himself as a mechanical door? She placed her hand on plate, which happened to on the Firelord’s emblem, marked on his chest. Blasting a short wave of fire through it caused the statue’s eyes and mouth to burst out fire momentarily. Azula had already come to appreciate the designer’s artistic taste when it came to the construction of this labyrinth. Upon entering the room she looked upon a large statue of a dragon curled around with its’ head peering out towards her, surrounded by old and weathered scrolls. Picking up the first scroll she saw, she crinkled open the paper and looks upon the bolded title, ever so emphasised, and for a good reason.  
The princess led it aloud, “The final testimony of Fire Lord Sozin.” Her great-grandfathers last words of a sorts, she presumed. Glancing at the first line, she felt a chill to almost hear the words of a man whose actioned defined the world she lived in.  
“As I feel my own life dimming, I can't help but think of a time when everything was so much brighter. I remember my friend, Roku-“, Azula peeled back, countering back to her thoughts and memories again. Roku was the last Avatar known before the war, and that supposedly the ‘almighty and powerful’ Firelord Sozin was friends with the Avatar. It brought some familial and patriotic disgust, but also intrigue as to why the Great War had even occurred with the Firelord being friends with the Avatar. She continued to read, Sozin detailing how he was saddened by Roku leaving to become the Avatar and ultimately not seeing him for another 12 years, by which then he had ascended to his title of Firelord of the Fire Nation. The scroll continued on to explain how Sozin developed his ideology, the very one that defined the Fire Nation’s push to dominate the world, as he described it “to spread prosperity”.  
Azula thought on the distinct changes between the ideology of her great-grandfather and father, and how the Fire Nation’s entire ethos was dominated by the idea of their own superiority and dominance over other nations, militarily and economically, differing from Sozin’s ideals of economic prosperity through the direct Fire Nation control of parts of the world, which at the very least actually made some logical sense to Azula, compared to the empty-minded and authoritative propaganda that the current government spat out with no reserve.  
Sozin continued to explain how Roku rejected this ideology and how they fought over it a number of years later, forcing Sozin to stand down. But as Azula knew, he would have to eventually invade the Earth Kingdom. Supposedly the finality of it was spurred forth by a volcanic eruption on Roku’s home island, through which Sozin tricked Roku and let him die in the eruption, as to allow for his goals to become a reality. The Firelord seemed to regret his actions heavily, but still furthered his conquest and then the annihilation of the Air Nomads via the Great Comet, renamed in his honour, finishing his life unable to find the last Airbender, the Avatar.  
The Fire Princess understood the failings and successes of Firelord Sozin, and understood herself as part of his legacy in the future of the Fire Nation, and realised ever so quickly the reality of the situation. Roku was the last Avatar before the Airbender boy, and he is the old man she sees in her dreams. His distinct voice and stature of being gave her the idea that he was the Avatar, but how important he was to the story of the Fire Nation’s rise. Perhaps he sought her as a descendant of Sozin to right the wrongs of the Fire Nation, or to ensure that his successor can achieve his goals. She knew that her father was in the most direct opposition of the Avatar, and that it would only be a short time before she could do nothing but watch the world burn as they fought a battle that would crumble their empire, unless her father won of course… But the visions didn’t lie to her, they couldn’t have. If the Avatar’s friends beat her, the Avatar must have beat her father meaning that. That was still going to be the future of the world, where their Empire crumbles and the Avatar defeats the Firelord. Azula stood up and grumbled in contempt. Why did the world have to be so damn complicated, and why was it her with all these spirit damned responsibilities. She wasn’t the Avatar, she didn’t want to dance with fate knowing the future that awaited her. The princess glanced down the hallway, seeing there to be no Fire Sages in sight.  
“Uncle has a lot of explaining to do…” she thought, placing her hand on her head with doubt. Sometimes even the best can’t figure out a good plan… And she was very good.

* * *

“Whoa! What is that?” the young airbender exclaimed in awe, gazing upon the massive metal shipwreck protruding out of the icy plain.  
“A Fire Navy Ship. And a very bad memory for my people.” Katara explained, with a darker tone in her voice. Aang was still intrigued by the ship and started to walk towards it, making Katara call out in fear, “Aang, stop! We're not allowed to go near it! The ship could be booby-trapped!”  
“If you want to be a bender, you have to let go of fear.” Aang smiles at Katara holding out his hand. Katara ponders over his remark for a moment and walks toward him, her eyes full of fear, hoping the boy was right. As they both ventured closer to the ship, Aang helps Katara climb some blocks of ice beside the ship, allowing them to reach the opening in the ship’s hull. They pace themselves slowly through the ever so silent rooms of the shipwreck, noticing the scattering of little feet, hamsters being now the only inhabitants of this long deserted ship. Aang enters a room, glancing upon the stocked arsenal of weapons laying around the room.  
“This ship has haunted by tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl.” Katara says, her voice echoing through the room, “It was part of the Fire Nation’s first attacks.”  
Aang looked at Katara with doubt, “Okay, back up. I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation. I’ve never seen any war.”  
Katara now felt concerned and further confused, “Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?”  
“I don’t know. A few days, maybe?” Aang answered with uncertainty.  
“I think it was more like a hundred years!” Katara exclaimed in realisation.  
In full disbelief Aang accused Katara, “What?! That’s impossible! Do I look like a hundred-twelve-year-old man to you?”  
“Think about it. The War is a century old. You don't know about it because, somehow, you were in there the whole time! It's the only explanation.” Aang’s face changed to one of comprehension, before slumping onto the floor in shock.  
“A hundred years! I can’t believe it.” Aang said with a saddened tone in his voice.  
Katara squats beside him and offers comfort, “I’m sorry Aang. Maybe somehow there’s a bright side to all this…”  
Aang cheerfully responds, “I did get meet you.”  
Katara smiles at him, offering him her hand, “C’mon let’s get out of here.” She pulls him to his feet, and they both exit the room. “Aang let’s head back, place is creepy.” Aang and Katara continue walking through the ship, finally reaching up to the bridge. Aang walks in with Katara at his tail and he unwarily trips over a thin rope and as he stumbles, metal bars slide downward over the entrance, barring it and trapping them inside.  
“Huh?” Aang realises, looking back at the closed bars. The two run towards the gates, glancing through, hoping to find a way out. “What’s that you said about booby traps?” They notice the rumbling of machinery as it seems the ship is turned back on, looking at each component as it does its work, shaking the room in the process, until suddenly a flare is fired, and explodes high in the sky.  
“Uh oh”, Aang exclaims. As Katara looks out the window at the flare, Aang notices a hole in the roof, taking Katara into his arms, “Hold on tight!” As the airbender jumps up powered with his airbending, Katara squeals in fear. Aang then uses another few powered jumps to go down the side of the ship, reaching the ground.  
Katara points across the icy plains, “Aang, that’s where the village is, we have to get there as quick as possible, that flare could have gotten the attention of the Fire Nation!”  
Aang ponders and agrees, “You right, let’s get there and get there fast!” They both then start running in the given direction. Little did they know, that from a ship a few miles away was a young prince of the Fire Nation, watching their every move, and planning the attack that would finally achieve his goal that he had been anticipating for the past 3 years: To capture the Avatar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for procrastinating this chapter so much, I'm in my last year of school and I haven't found much time to dedicate to writing. But in the past week I've written this up, and plan to write the next chapter within the next few weeks before my exams. Anyway, I've decided to split the first two episodes of the show into three chapters as there's more content with Azula's POV and more information on Zuko.

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction is a repost from my fanfiction.net account, however it is still defiantly in progress at the time of posting, so you all still get to enjoy a amicable waiting period between new chapters. Like a real television series!


End file.
